{"id":1337,"date":"2023-10-14T18:17:59","date_gmt":"2023-10-14T18:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/storypress.site\/?p=1337"},"modified":"2023-10-14T18:17:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-14T18:17:59","slug":"every-single-day-community-buys-out-local-donut-shop-so-owner-can-afford-be-with-sick-wife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storypress.site\/?p=1337","title":{"rendered":"Every single day, community buys out local donut shop so owner can afford be with sick wife"},"content":{"rendered":"

A humble little donut shop in California is the site of a sweet, emotional story involving love and collective kindness.<\/p>\n

This is Donut City, a store in California where folks can treat themselves to everything from glazed to sprinkled donuts.<\/p>\n

But the donuts aren\u2019t the sweetest thing about this place. It\u2019s the owners.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

SOURCE:YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT \u2013 NBC NEWS<\/p>\n

John Chhan has been running Donut City for 30 years with his wife, Stella.
\nWhen she had an aneurysm, John had to work alone.<\/p>\n

Stella was going to be fine, but it would take a while. A brain aneurysm is no joke. She couldn\u2019t work with him.<\/p>\n

Bills had to be paid, especially hospital bills.<\/p>\n

John kept working at the donut shop without her, depressed and lonely, while she recovered \u2013 and word about this spread.<\/p>\n

The citizens of the area learned about this store full of sweets and its even sweeter owners, so they all started helping.<\/p>\n

See, John and Stella weren\u2019t worried about money. It was being together that they were having trouble with.
\nThe immigrants from Cambodia and China respectively spent well over 30 years together and loved each other too much to be apart.<\/p>\n

For the longest time, things would play out like this: John and Stella would ready the ovens by 2 AM and then open the shop at 4 AM. They would sell donuts for much of the day before closing around noon.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

SOURCE:YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT \u2013 NBC NEWS<\/p>\n

With Stella recovering at the rehabilitation center, John couldn\u2019t afford the time to be with her until after closing hours.
\nAnd that was quite a long time.<\/p>\n

A regular customer of theirs, 58-year-old Dawn Caviola, first learned about John\u2019s situation and decided to get the message out via social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2019t think it would become this big.\u201d Caviola said<\/p>\n

So the community of Seal Beach, California came together to regularly buy out the store\u2019s donuts so John could end work early.<\/p>\n

Every day, dozens of people who reside in the area would line up when the store opened. They\u2019d buy boxes upon boxes of donuts from the store. Aside from letting John go home early to be with Stella, it also provided him with the income he needed.<\/p>\n

Now, John could close up way before noon and leave to be with Stella \u2013 the one thing he wanted.
\n\u201cI feel very warm. I can just say, \u2018Thank you very much.\u201d John said to everyone<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

SOURCE:YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT \u2013 NBC NEWS<\/p>\n

He fought back tears when he tried to talk about how much it meant to him. Seeing that many people show their care and support for you would make anyone cry.<\/p>\n

Stella has since recovered enough to return to working in light shifts.
\nShe says she\u2019s at \u201cabout 85%\u201d of her capacity now. That\u2019s great to hear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so happy. They all care about me.\u201d said Stella<\/p>\n

While full recovery might take a bit longer, Stella has come a long way already.
\nAs long as she has her husband and community behind her, she\u2019ll be just fine.<\/p>\n

The people of the Seal Beach area have really shown that their people come before anything else. It put a big old smile on my face reading about it, and I hope it did for you too.<\/p>\n