Nestled between savory restaurants on Laurie Meadows Drive in San Mateo is a bright blue sign that glows “Cruel Donuts: Always Fresh. Come on in.”
Upon entry, the fragrant scent of freshly fried donuts fills the air. Light pink donut boxes designed by owner Lean Ma surround the shop.
Ma and her family fled Cambodia in the late ‘70s to escape the Cambodian Khmer Rouge, one of the largest genocides in history. From 1976 to 1980, Ma’s family stayed in numerous refugee camps throughout Southeast Asia, including one in Thailand, where Ma was born.
Soon, when Ma was one year old, her family came to America. “They came from a country that was escaping war. When they first came here they had nothing on them,” Ma said. “A friend sponsored them to come out here.”
“My older brother had died on the way here because they had no food for him. He was two years old. My girl cousins all passed away too. They were very relieved because they were finally at a safe place,” Ma said.
Ma’s family first settled in Washington, but her father’s friend eventually introduced them to a donut business in Yucca Valley, near Palm Springs.
“My dad was already an entrepreneur when he was young, so he wanted to take a look at it. They found the business really easy to operate because they knew limited English. It didn’t require a lot of skills, just working hard. The customers just point to what they want and as you go, you learn English,” Ma said.
In 1982, Ma and her family decided to settle down in Yucca Valley. “It was a challenge for my parents in the 80’s when they first opened the business. The town was near Palm Springs and all Caucasian people. My parents faced racism because they’re Asian, but just ignored it,” she said.
As the business grew more successful, Ma’s family opened more donut shops as they moved around California, from Fairfield to San Francisco. Today, Ma’s family donut shop is known as “Happy Donuts” and has several locations around California, with the closest one in Palo Alto.
“Everywhere we went, we opened a donut shop. Eventually, my dad would lease it out to somebody else in our community that was interested in getting into the business. We settled here in the Bay Area because there was more opportunity out here,” Ma said.
Throughout her childhood, Ma helped out at her parents’ donut shop. “When I was growing up, I didn’t want to be in the business, but I just continued doing it. Eventually, when I graduated college, I realized that I actually liked being in the business, but a different aspect of it,” she said.
Rather than waitressing or serving as a cashier, Ma wanted to participate in the more creative aspects of business. “When I was growing up, working in donut shops was very demanding sometimes. I didn’t like that part, but I liked doing the creative side where we made the menu and designed the store,” she said.
In 2022, Ma opened her own donut shop in San Mateo. Inspired by one of her favorite childhood donuts, the French Cruller, and her favorite 80’s song, “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama, Ma decided to name her store Cruel Donuts. “It is a cruel world out there, but you can sprinkle a little bit of happiness in people’s lives by giving them donuts,” Ma said.
One of the challenges Ma faced when she first became a business owner was deciding how she wanted to lead her business. “I first worked under my father and then I worked under other people. I saw different kinds of leadership styles and when I was still young, and I didn’t know what kind of leader I wanted to be,” she said.
As Ma built Cruel Donuts, she eventually discovered the type of leader she aspired to become––someone who helps everyone experience something new. “I like to hire people who have never been in the industry and want to learn about customer service. I find people with a great personality and then build off their own skills. Eventually they can use those skills to go into other careers,” she said.
Today, Cruel Donuts offers a variety of unique flavors including Crème Brûlée, Strawberry Nutella, Strawberry Shortcake, Guava, and Passion Fruit. The store also incorporates Asian-inspired flavors and textures, like ube cake donuts and mochi donuts. “We have a huge population of Asian people here, so I always try to incorporate some Asian flavors,” Ma said.
“There’s a lot of opportunity out here. Wherever you dream of you can make it happen. It just takes a little hard work and perseverance,” Ma said about the advice she would give to other new immigrants.
