Customers Snap Up Every Doughnut So Shop Owner Can Go Home To His Sick Wife

Mar 02, 2023

We don’t often realize how we take time for granted. We don’t think about the time we spend with the people we love – something that John Chhan wanted more than anything.

John, then 62, owned Donut City, a doughnut shop in Seal Beach, California. He and his wife, Stella Chhan, 63, would show up every day of the week in the wee hours of 2 a.m. to start preparing fresh doughnuts for the day before opening up to the public at 4:30 a.m.

Donut City had been a staple for many Californians for 30 years, but back in 2018, they had no idea about the tragedy that had befallen the couple. It was only when customers began noticing that Stella wasn’t showing up they suspected something was wrong.

As it turned out, Stella had suffered a brain aneurysm that made it impossible for her to help John run the shop. Instead, she could only rest and undergo rehab. Each moment John spent at the shop was a moment he couldn’t spend with her.

One long-time customer, Dawn Caviola, 58, noticed this change, and when she discovered the reason behind Stella’s absence, she simply couldn’t sit back and do nothing.

“I went home and I just couldn’t get it out of my head,” Caviola told NBC News on Saturday, adding, “They are just such hardworking people.” After mulling over how best to help John, she decided to write a blog post detailing their woes.

She decided the best way she could help John was to give him more time to be with his beloved wife, Stella.

John’s days ended when all his doughnuts were sold. This gave Caviola a bright idea. Caviola went to the community network Nextdoor to urge residents to buy as many doughnuts as they could to help him out. Thankfully it worked, but it worked better than anyone could’ve expected.

“I have never done anything like that before but I just thought if everyone can just buy a dozen doughnuts, it might help him out. I didn’t think it would become this big,” she said.

Another Donut City fan, Marc Loopesko, encouraged members of his community to head to John’s outlet as well. “So I said, ‘Let’s just come here, buy his inventory out every morning, early, so he can get home and be with his wife and help mend her back to full health,’” Loopesko said. 

Caviola’s post went viral, and soon everybody was buying doughnuts from Donut City. It was so successful that one Saturday morning, John’s outlet was sold out of doughnuts by 8:30 a.m. 

Speaking to CBS News, John said he couldn’t believe it and that he felt warm and happy before he added, “Thank you very much, for our neighbors, our community, they’re all helping me so much.”

Also, as a testament to John, who had settled in the United States with his wife as refugees from Cambodia, and his humble nature, when other customers offered to create a GoFundMe account to help raise funds for the couple, John declined. He didn’t want money; he wanted time with his wife.

John shared that Stella has been making a great recovery and is regaining the ability to talk and eat. They hope that she’ll be back in the shop in no time.

What do you think of the community gathering around John Chhan in his time of need? Do you feel your community would do the same? Let us know, and go ahead and pass this on to those who need an inspiring boost today.