Doughnuts are selling like hotcakes in Seal Beach – and not because of a ballyhooed new bakery heralding gourmet confections. Rather, Donut City on Pacific Coast Highway has been around for nearly three decades, with unfussy fare and prices as humble as the bare-bones decor: 90 cents for a cake doughnut, $1.05 for a glazed.

For the past 28 years, seven days a week, proprietors John and Stella Chhan have stood behind the counter cheerfully boxing and bagging doughnuts, muffins and cinnamon rolls each day until they sell out. A few weeks ago, however, regulars started noticing that half of the duo was missing. John Chhan explained to inquisitive customers that his wife had suffered a debilitating aneurysm.

“Days went by and I just couldn’t get it out of my head,” said Dawn Caviola. “So I thought, if enough people would buy a dozen doughnuts every morning, he could close early and go be with his wife.” Caviola, “thinking out loud,” floated her idea on the neighborhood networking site Nextdoor early last week. The response was immediate and enthusiastic. Ever since, Chhan has sold out by noon – some three hours earlier than usual – freeing him to visit his wife at the rehabilitation facility. “We are so thankful,” said Chhan, 62, holding both hands over his heart.

John Chhan fills an order for Sam Esquivel at Donut City in Seal Beach, CA on Monday, October 29, 2018. John’s wife, Stella, suffered an aneurysm in September. Their customers have put out the word to buy all their donuts each day so John can get home and tend to Stella through her rehabilitation. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

John Chhan has a laugh with customer Art Higareda at Donut City in Seal Beach, CA on Monday, October 29, 2018. John’s wife, Stella, suffered an aneurysm in September. Their customers have put out the word to buy all their donuts each day so John can get home and tend to Stella through her rehabilitation. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Customers get their donuts at Donut City in Seal Beach, CA on Monday, October 29, 2018. Stella Chhan, one of the owners, suffered an aneurysm in September. Their customers have put out the word to buy all their donuts each day so John, her husband, can get home and tend to her. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

John Chhan makes donuts each day and closes when he sells out at Donut City in Seal Beach, CA on Monday, October 29, 2018. John’s wife, Stella, suffered an aneurysm in September. Their customers have put out the word to buy all their donuts each day so John can get home and tend to Stella through her rehabilitation. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

John Chhan helps a customer at Donut City in Seal Beach, CA on Monday, October 29, 2018. John’s wife, Stella, suffered an aneurysm in September. Their customers have put out the word to buy all their donuts each day so John can get home and tend to Stella through her rehabilitation. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)



John Chhan works the counter at Donut City in Seal Beach, CA on Monday, October 29, 2018. John’s wife, Stella, suffered an aneurysm in September. Their customers have put out the word to buy all their donuts each day so John can get home and tend to Stella through her rehabilitation. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

This past weekend, so many customers bought in bulk, Chhan said, “I was able to leave at 10.”

Stella Chhan, 63, started to feel dizzy and disoriented while at a wedding party Sept. 22. Her husband took her to the hospital, where a brain scan revealed the bulging artery.

She was in a sleep-like state, unable to communicate, for the next two weeks. When she finally spoke again, Chhan said, “I was so relieved, and grateful.”

His wife is still weak, he added, but lucid and gradually regaining strength in her limbs.

In the meantime, her sister Sharon Tam often pitches in at the store.

The Chhans came to the United States from Cambodia as refugees in 1979, and bought Donut City 10 years later. They arrive to work well before sunrise and rarely take a day off.

“They’re such sweet, hard-working people,” Caviola said.

Karen Como has frequented the Chhans’ business for 25 years – first with her children and now with her grandchildren. “Until recently, I’d never been in there without seeing both of their smiling faces,” she said.

On Sunday, she purchased three dozen doughnuts for her Bible study class: “The line made me late, but no one minded when I walked in with doughnuts.”

Larry Wolfe prefers the croissants. “I go to Paris for my job four times a year, and these croissants are better,” he maintained.

McGaugh Elementary teacher Michelle O’Brien stopped in early Monday morning before school. She now makes it a point to buy treats for her students at Donut City instead of at a grocery store.

Her daughter Abby, 9, approves. “Pavilions gets too fancy with things like pretzel toppings,” the young food critic said, wrinkling her nose. “I like that they keep the flavors simple here.”

But the biggest raves are for John and Stella Chhan, whose unassuming little shop has become part of the fabric of the Seal Beach community.

“We have watched them work extremely hard to keep their doors open and support their family,” said Marc Loopesko. “We will always support them, even more so in their time of need.”

One customer offered to set up a GoFundMe page for the couple, but John Chhang declined.

“He said he has enough money,” Caviola said. “He just wants to spend more time with his wife.”