Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Yen
Hi Peter, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My family immigrated to the US from Cambodia on September 20, 1979. Like many Cambodian refugees around the world, my parents risked their lives for an unknown and uncertain future in hopes of saving themselves from the Khmer Rouge atrocities and genocide in Cambodia. My parents escaped and fled their agricultural work camp by foot at night through the landmine infested jungle in Battambang to the refugee camps along the northern border in Thailand with their newborn. After living several months in the UNHRC refugee camps, they were granted political asylum in the US.
Upon arrival in the US, my parents worked multiple blue-collar jobs and attended night school to learn English. One of their jobs was working at Mag’s Donuts. After several years of saving money, they were able to purchase the donut shop when the previous owner retired. Continuing the legacy from the previous owner, Mag’s continues to be an institution in Irvine, California with the steadfast support of the community and our loyal customers.
My sisters and I grew up at the donut shop; we spent countless hours after school and on the weekends at the donut shop with our parents. We probably learned how to sell donuts before we could even walk or talk. Donuts are in our DNA and a legacy that I have the honor and privilege of carrying on and continuing.
My family and I want to express our sincerest appreciation and gratitude to the communities of Irvine, Orange County, and everybody who travels near and far to support and patronize Mag’s Donuts. Thank you for making our family’s donuts a part of your family’s gatherings and moments.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
During the health craze and low carb fad dieting phenomenon and movement away from cash to credit card usage in the early 2000’s coupled with the changing demographic of the community we served really impacted our client base and sales in a negative way.
Since the clientele was steady and loyal in the 80’s and 90’s, my parents never had to focus on marketing to maintain or expand their business. However, as the clientele started to grow older, a lot of the customers started to graduate high school and went off to college, retired and moved out of the area, or passed away. At the same time the client base was declining naturally, people in general started to be more health conscious and low carb diets became the trend coupled with the proliferation in credit card usage really affected the business.
The donut shop needed to be rebranded and expand its reach and demographics if it wanted to stay in business. However, my mother was really resistant to any changes we suggested, even a simple change such as adding a credit card machine was met with disdain. Many customers would walk out after selecting their donuts when they didn’t have cash to pay for their purchase. Later, we learned that our mother’s resistance to change wasn’t necessarily due to resisting change but due to her limited language and educational skills. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to learn how to use or troubleshoot if there were any issues if we introduced new technology into the donut shop.
My mother still doesn’t know how to use a smartphone. She can barely make a call and sending out a text message is completely impossible, especially since she doesn’t read or write in English or even in her native language, Cambodian. She was only able to attend the second grade when the Cambodian civil war broke out and disrupted her education in the 60’s. Realizing her true fear, I started helping with the donut shop operations in a more intentional and meaningful way.
A credit card machine was added to the business and we trained my mother and our employees on how to use the credit card machine. If there were any issues, she would call us and we would help troubleshoot. After she grew more comfortable with the credit card machine and realized how this simple technological change was able to generate more business, she was more open and apt to the changes we recommended. I helped with increasing and expanding our reach and demographic by employing online food delivery apps like post mates, door dash, and ubereats and introducing new product offerings that aligned with holidays, seasons, and current trends, which allowed us to not only reach a younger clientele, but also to expand our territory beyond Irvine, California.
As you know, we’re big fans of Mag’s Donuts & Bakery. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Mag’s Donuts & Bakery is a family owned and operated donut shop located in Irvine, CA serving donuts and baked goods to the community for over 40 years.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My parents shaped my work ethic and perseverance. Their decades of hard work made Mag’s Donuts a success. Watching them work hard to provide for our family makes me determined to carry on the torch and do the same for my own family. I want to thank my family for their unwavering support and my wife, Sandy, for raising our two beautiful children Jamie and Raiden. Lastly, I want to thank the community for their loyal support and patronage.
Pricing:
- $2.25 raised donut
- $2.50 raised twist/bar
- apple fritter/bear claws/cinnamon rolls $3.75
- cream donut $3.75
- plain croissant $3.75
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.magsdonuts.com
- Instagram: magsdonuts
