Ever notice how in TV and movies doughnuts always seem to come in pink boxes? The ubiquitous soft-pink cake box’s origins harken back to Southern California in the 1980s but also to a Cambodian refugee’s business acumen.
Besides In-N-Out, tofu, and tacos, SoCal, it turns out, really loves doughnuts. Though the Instagram posts from your friends in LA might suggest they never indulge in the fried sweet awesomeness, there is a doughnut store for every 7,000 Angelenos, while the ratio is 30,000 people to a shop in most of the rest of the US (that same love of doughnuts might explain all the hiking pics, too, just saying).
Unlike New England, there’s no one dominant brand in the Southland. Winchell’s Donuts, founded in 1948, is the largest single branded chain on the west coast. However, they only count 170 locations companywide; that includes five other states and US territory Guam and commonwealth Saipan. Californians don’t run on Dunkin’ or Krispy Kreme either. Instead, independent, usually family-run shops dot the sprawling landscape.
