Ted Ngoy

Ted Ngoy (born Bun Tek Ngoy 倪文德; 1941) is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of doughnut shops in California. He is nicknamed the "Donut King".

Biography

Ted Ngoy was born in the Cambodian village of Sisophon near the country's border with Thailand to a Chinese immigrant family. His father left him when he was 5 years old and was left to be raised alone by his single mother, who was from Shantou, Guangdong. Ngoy's mother did not speak Khmer, which meant they struggled to get by.

Early life in Cambodia In 1967, Ngoy was sent by his mother to study in the capital, Phnom Penh, where he met and married Suganthini Khoeun, the daughter of a high-ranking government official.

Donut King Ngoy secured work as a janitor with Peace Lutheran Church in Tustin, California. While working a second job at a gas station, Ngoy took notice of a busy local doughnut shop and inquired of its operators about learning the business. He subsequently received training through an affirmative action program to increase minority hiring within the Winchell's chain of doughnut shops, and managed a store in Newport Beach where he employed his wife and nephew. By 1977 he was able to purchase his first doughnut shop, Christy's Donuts, in La Habra. Despite never really being a huge success under the previous owners, Christy's became popular under the ownership of the Ngoys. The Ngoys decided to keep uniformity amongst their shops, naming subsequent acquisitions Christy's. He saw an opportunity to expand his business and help the large number of poor, unassimilated Cambodians who had fled the Khmer Rouge and came through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program to the United States. By 1987, Ngoy owned 32 Christy's Donuts locations, largely accomplished by living out of a motor home allowing him and his family to travel up and down the state of California establishing new locations. In 2013, he was living in Phnom Penh working in real estate.

Film Ngoy is the subject of the 2020 documentary film The Donut King. Ngoy was hesitant to return to California for the film; he was estranged from his children and former friends. However, the film's director—Alice Gu—persuaded him to and, ultimately, he regarded his return as a 'healing experience,' and his ex-wife and children have forgiven him.