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Classic at Christy’s

Charles Anton, JOCLA Photographer | Published on 4/28/2022

Most of us who own classic Jaguars, or any Classic, take the time to look up the history of the car company that put out our wheels. For example, this 1992 XJS was made in 8-1991, delivered to Hornburg on Sunset in early 1992, and sat on the lot for a year before being sold Valentine’s Day 1993 to a doctor’s wife. Furthermore, the graph on the Heritage Site shows just 352 of these coupes made with a V12 in 1992. There are further tidbits of info on this car, but I digress.

While most of us research the vehicles we drive on the weekend, how many of us take the time to research our favorite places to take these cars? Here’s a bit of help to make your drive in a classic a bit more fun. Research the places you go, especially those places near your residence that you go to on a regular basis. Who lives in California and has never eaten a donut? Yeah, I thought so…..NOBODY. There are car cruises in California that meet at donut shops on the weekends. They are impossible to get a spot in unless you are there by 5 or 6. Trust me, this is experience talking.

Submitted for your perusal is a donut shop in Fullerton, California. Nothing special at first glance, in a strip mall with a boarded-up grocery store at 326 Euclid, Fullerton, CA. Melody and I went there once or twice when we first moved to Fullerton in 1991, although I cannot remember this. We moved to other locations and forgot all about this little donut shop.

We moved back to Placentia in 2009 and found other mom-and-pop donut shops like B&B on Harbor, Donut Star on Chapman and Yorba Linda Blvd locations, and K&M at Bastanchury. I still forgot all about Christy’s on Euclid until……………….

Melody and I saw a streaming plug for a documentary called The Donut King. This is a true account about Ted Ngoy and his wife Christy. Can you see where I’m going with this? Ted and his wife fled Cambodia to escape Pol Pot. This family landed in Camp Pendleton during the last year of Gerald Ford. Ted Ngoy and his family arrived with nothing but a small number of belongings. He worked two to three jobs, just did not quit on the American Dream. During his interview, he reveals that, while working at a gas station in La Habra, he walked across the street to investigate the wonderful smell of donuts. He did not know what a donut was, but the light bulb went on. He tasted great pastry, like Cambodian pastry, and the opportunity to make money.

After getting educated at Winchell’s Donuts school of bakery, he saved every penny and opened the first Christy’s Donuts in Orange County. Does anyone ever wonder where all those Winchell’s Donuts went? You guessed it….Ted’s business model, great tasting donuts, and his families’ tireless work ethics very nearly put Winchell’s under. Ted and all those families he sponsored opened thousands of donut shops and single-handedly drove Dunkin Donuts out of California in the early to mid 1980’s. I have had Dunkin and KK donuts and there is no comparison to the Cambodian donut.

During the documentary, I noticed a photo of Ted in front of the unassuming store on Euclid Street in Fullerton. I looked up the address and, sure enough, it’s the same donut shop that has been there since 1983. This was when Ted was just getting ramped up. This store is one of three left with the original yellow sign. So, I have come full circle since 1991. I’m back at Christy’s once again, this time in a Jaguar instead of a rusty 1973 Chrysler New Yorker.

This donut shop is a short 4 mile drive down Bastanchury Road. Folks drive 60mph down this road. I can really get Ol’ BugEyes going here without freeway driving. Christy’s in Fullerton represents significant donut history in California for anyone who cares about how donut culture has evolved here. Car folks love to go for a donut run in their classics. However, most car meets require getting up a 4:30am and arriving at 5-5:30 for a spot in the lot. None of them are close to my house. I’m too old and busy for that. I get lots of compliments on this XJS every time I go to Christy’s and catch up on magazines for at least two hours over a donut.

I may miss some Jaguar Club events because my business has really blown up, but I will rarely miss a Saturday morning at this historical 1983 donut shop that represents Ted Ngoy’s dream of escaping war and terror. I get there at a leisurely 7:30am. There are 5,500 donut shops in California. A full 95% are owned by Cambodian families and their descendants, including famous ones like DK’s in Santa Monica/Orange, many Donut Stars, B C Donuts in Pasadena, and others. If you happen to be up early on a Saturday morning, crave a donut, and don’t want to drive a long distance, skip the big crowds for a change and bring your “Classic to Christy’s”.

Charles Anton

Los Angeles Club Photographer

Inland Empire Club Secretary beginning summer 2022

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