At Detour Doughnuts in Frisco, a long line of people stretched out the door on Saturday morning. Six stores down in front of Jersey Mike’s, the last person in line patiently stood waiting.
Many of them were there to buy a bright yellow glazed doughnut with the words #StopAsianHate written in jet black frosting. Jinny Cho, the store’s 27-year-old owner and chef, said it’s the busiest the store’s ever been. She's sold 561 of the handmade doughnuts so far.
She created the specialty doughnut in response to the Atlanta shooting that left eight people dead, including six women of Asian decent.
“I am an Asian American business owner and what happened in Atlanta, it's tragic that someone thinks that they can do that just because of the way someone looks,” she said. “Hate shouldn’t have a voice.”
Cho started selling her #StopAsianHate doughnuts on Thursday and spoke with WFAA on Friday, when her doughnuts sold out before 10 a.m. So on Saturday, she made over 300 doughnuts and decided to stagger their sales throughout the day to make sure more people had a chance to show their support.
The young entrepreneur’s already raised $1,500 and expects to raise $1,000 more by closing time Sunday.
She said she hopes her doughnuts encourage conversations about the violence and discrimination against Asians. The nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate recently released a report that showed 3,795 incidents of hate against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. this past year.
Buying a doughnut is a simple way to show support, she said, and all the sales from the doughnuts will be donated to the Stop Asian Hate GoFundMe .
Cho said she was also compelled to hold the fundraiser because she's a single mother of a 3-year-old.
“It’s important for every parent to do this work because we have to raise children that are anti-racist,” she said. Cho said conversations with children could start over something as simple as a doughnut.
Customer Jenny Skinner also saw the doughnuts as an opportunity to teach her children. She and her husband Richard sat outside the doughnut shop, sharing #StopAsianHate doughnuts with their two sons ages 7 and 5.
The Skinners' 5-year-old, Asher, enthusiastically grabbed the doughnut with both hands and took a large bite. Jenny said the doughnuts are an easy entry point to a difficult topic.
“I feel like as an Asian American this was some sort of small way that I could bring awareness to my family in the form of something everybody loves: doughnuts,” she said. “I thought it was a small way I could educate my own children since they’re so little and they don’t have a full scope of what’s going on in our country right now.”
Jenny said even with all the attacks on Asians across the country, it can be easy to forget what’s going on.
“I think in our bubble here in Dallas, we don’t realize that there are things that are happening in the Asian community," she said. "But a lot of the Asian community doesn’t talk about it. I think a lot of non-Asians or people who aren’t around Asian people aren’t familiar with what’s happening even within our bubble, especially in this suburban bubble."
Richard said it’s nice to see the community showing their support.
“You can see that a ton of people have shown up,” he said. “So, certainly people are getting the message and I hope to see more of this.”
Amari Dussett finally made it to the front of the store after waiting for around 30 minutes. He said he was a first-time customer to the store and it was well worth the wait. Dussett, who's Black, saw the #StopAsianHate doughnuts on WFAA. He said the doughnuts "look super good," but more importantly he wanted to show his support as a fellow person of color.
“I feel like there’s a certain awareness that needs to be brought to peoples’ attention that there are many minorities that are subjected to hate, not just African Americans,” he said.
Twins Maia and Emma Scarborough were waiting in line with their two younger cousins Autumn and Haven. They heard about the specialty doughnuts from Detour’s Instagram page, which has a following of almost 12,000. It’s a platform where Cho has been especially vocal, speaking out against the hate and discrimination towards Asians.
Emma said they're loyal customers of Detour, where they often have “sister dates.” They said they came to show Cho she has the community behind her.
“I just think it’s so unfair what Asian people have been experiencing here in the U.S. over the past year and we just wanted to make it a point to come and support,” Emma said.
While most of the community has been supportive, Cho said she received two hate calls. When she first opened her store on Thursday, she said a woman called complaining about the #StopAsianHate doughnuts.
“She was like, those [doughnuts] are stupid and they will run you out of business — something along the lines of you're like the laughing stock of Frisco.”
The same woman called back the next day, Cho said, harassing the store’s employees. So, Cho blocked the number and reported her to the Frisco police.
She said it’s not been easy for her staff, even though they’re committed to the cause.
“My team is so strong, but it wears them down,” Cho said. “Like every cut hurts because they know like they're standing up and they're doing something right. But they’re all super positive and they never stop smiling.”
While Cho’s grateful for the wave of support, it's also been exhausting. She woke up at 2 a.m. on Saturday morning to prepare her store. Each #StopAsianHate doughnut must be handwritten: Cho wanted to make the message undeniably clear.
The whirlwind of the past few days, keeping up the high demand for her specialty doughnuts and the weight of hearing about the Atlanta shooting, has taken its toll. Cho said she’s been doing the best she can to protect her mental health.
“I have been viciously taking care of myself because otherwise I literally would not be able to wake up the next day,” she said. “Viciously, viciously taking care of myself — I need to last through the weekend, at the very least, and the adrenaline is real.”
But, the entrepreneur said, this cause is too important to rest right now. She’ll do her best to make as many #StopAsianHate doughnuts as she can to sell on Sunday. Then, she said she’ll rest on Monday when her shop closes.
When asked what she wants her customers to take away from the experience, Cho sat back and paused before speaking.
“There is work to be done and everyone's work looks different," she said. "Everyone's anti-racism journey looks different.”
Got a tip? Email Elizabeth Myong at Emyong@KERA.org. You can follow Elizabeth on Twitter @Elizabeth_Myong.
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