LA’s Donut Princess: From Humble Beginnings to Donut Royalty
You’ve probably seen those pictures of donuts on Instagram — intricately decorated and eye-popping, as much a treat for the eyes as they are a treat for your now-rumbling belly. Maybe you have posted some pictures yourself. Mayly Tao, owner of DK’s Donuts in Los Angeles, is largely responsible for this donut-infiltration of your newsfeed. Tao’s curation of the donut scene on social media has earned her the title of “The Donut Princess,” perhaps in homage to the legacy established by her uncle Ted Ngoy, “The Donut King,” years earlier.
At first glance, you wouldn’t think the quaint and small donut shop on Santa Monica Boulevard, was famous. Yet, despite its humble exterior, DK’s is one of the most highly rated and Instagrammable donut shops in California, capturing the sweet tooth of donut lovers from all over the state.
Tao wasn’t born a Donut Princess. Her story began as a donut kid — a child of two, hard working donut shop owners in the heart of Southern California. Tao grew up helping her parents run the shop. She did everything from working the cash register to making the donuts and befriending the shop’s customers. Like other donut kids, she shared in the responsibility of owning a family business.
At a young age, instead of sleeping in and playing with other kids, Tao worked hard to help her parents. She remembers, “when I was young, it was 5:30am on Saturday morning and my dad woke me up to go to work. I remember being so upset and wishing I could sleep and watch cartoons like the other kids.” Tao related her childhood experience to those of other donut kids she knew. “We spend so much time in our family’s businesses and it just becomes this community,” Tao said. Even some of their customers today still remember back when her mom was pregnant and working in the shop. “Customers have told me that they remember when I was in my mom’s womb!”
Despite all the tough work, Tao always felt a pull towards her family’s shop. Even while she attended UC San Diego for her bachelor’s degree, she felt a sense of duty to come back on the weekends to work at DK’s. After she graduated, she worked at San Diego Channel 6 News knowing that she wanted to be a reporter, but she quickly realized that the stories she shared on Channel 6 weren’t the stories she really wanted to tell. She was a donut kid at heart. In 2012, she came back with a mission to rebrand her parent’s already successful shop:
“I wanted to bring my foodie-loving self and step in and bring DK’s into the 21st century.”
Fast forward to what DK’s Donuts is today. With 85,000 followers on Instagram, 4 stars on Yelp and 2,000 ratings — Tao has built an empire. She recalled her first major success was becoming the first shop in Los Angeles to sell the Double Decker O-nut (the twist on the cronut, famously developed in New York by Dominique Ansel Bakery). Each of Tao’s subsequent creations brought DK’s even more customers and more fame. Take, for instance, her Texas-sized donut (which is bigger than an average person’s head), or DK’s famous three-tiered donut wedding cake.
But for all the big changes Tao brought to their business, her family wasn’t always on board with this transition into a new age of donuts. “They were definitely resistant,” Tao recalled. “Most Asian parents are extremely stubborn.” Tao remembers taking pictures of everything and amping up their business’ presence on social media platforms. She saw sales triple and customers respond favorably to the changes. But like many stars, it was a pivotal moment that launched DK’s into fame. “The thing that changed it all is when we made the Double Decker O-nut. It was at that moment when we saw that this was a new business.”
Soon, everyone in LA wanted DK’s donuts: “The Kardashians, Mel Gibson. Vendors like Hulu, Netflix, Fox. They all eat our donuts.”
Despite the fame and popularity, she never forgets her roots or the influence of her mom in her values. “My mom has always encouraged me to be a good person — this comes from her childhood and living in war and poverty.” The two of them had always dreamed of giving back to their home country, and this past December, they brought that dream to reality when they finished building a temple in Cambodia. “Cambodia is still a poor country,” Tao explained. “Though developing, it is a country that has experienced war and genocide. This temple is designed as a representation of our beliefs and how we want to give back to the world. Everybody will go through some form of suffering in their life. This temple is a way to create a community of support.”
Tao credits her family’s success to the hard work of her parents and to her own experiences as a child of immigrants. The donut shop was a small business with a huge impact. “We have it so good that we get to have an opportunity and to start a new life in America,” Tao said. “Our parents did that. In terms of the importance of my culture, my tradition, my beliefs… It wasn’t easy, but I’m so happy we did it.”
DK’s Donuts are located at 1614 Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica,
(310) 829–2512. They’re open 24/7.
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