Famous Seal Beach Donut Shop Burglarized

SEAL BEACH, CA — Burglars broke into Seal Beach’s most well-known doughnut store and a Main Street bicycle shop on different days this week, but there is no evidence at this point that the two crimes are related, according to the Seal Beach Police Department

Donut City’s owner John Chhan said he arrived at his shop located at 12th Street and Pacific Coast Highway around 4:00am on Saturday, Dec. 5 to find the store’s glass front door shattered and his cash register gone. Chhan said there was about $50 in the register when it was taken.

The second burglary in Old Town occurred around 6:15 a.m. Tuesday morning at Main Street Cyclery at 317 Main StreetAccording to the shop's owner Paul Rice, the shop’s glass window was smashed, and a bike worth more than $2,500 was stolen.

Rice shared images captured by the shop’s security camera on social networking site Nextdoor.com on Tuesday that showed what he said is the suspect, a man wearing a flannel, hooded sweatshirt and baseball hat.

In an interview on Tuesday, Rice said the suspect was seen walking by the shop around 6:02 am and then passed by again a few minutes later, holding a coffee cup and food. Rice said within minutes, the man punched and kicked through the shop's glass door and took a Fuji Supreme 2.1 bicycle.

“It was just a smash and grab,” said Rice, who has owned the shop for less than two years.

Rice reported his video cameras also captured images of a vehicle, possibly a Toyota SUV, that he believes was involved in the crime.

SBPD officers are currently reviewing the video, according to Sgt. Nick Nicholas.

According to Chhan, there are no cameras at Donut City, whose family has owned the shop for 30 years. It shares a parking lot with 7-11 but Sgt. Nicholas said that no other witnesses have been located.

Midday on Saturday, Chhan was putting up a piece of plywood in the shop’s doorway and said the store was closed for the day. It was back open on Sunday, and the door was fixed by Monday, thanks to a customer's help.

It’s not the first time a customer has helped the Chhan family through a difficult time. Donut City’s customers' generosity made international headlines in 2018 after Chhan’s wife, Stella, suffered complications from a brain aneurysm. For weeks people bought up doughnuts in bulk so he could close up his shop early to spend more time with her.

On Sunday, Chhan and his wife expressed thanks to customers who asked about the break-in.

“Thank you to everyone,” he said.

Main Street Cyclery’s owner said his community is still top of mind after the burglary.

“I’m much more concerned about other things than this guy breaking my window,” Rice said, referring to the challenges other Main Street businesses are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I have neighbors like Crema [Cafe] who are suffering, so it’s hard for me to complain.”

Restaurants in Orange County and across the state recently had to suspend all outdoor dining due to a surge in the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19.

Still, Rice hopes the burglary suspect is caught to send a message that while Seal Beach is a friendly, welcoming community, local businesses won’t tolerate criminals. He’s offering a $500 reward for identifying information that leads to the suspect.

“If you’re going to come into Seal Beach and do this stuff, we’re going to track you down,” Rice said.

Anyone with information about the burglaries at Main Street Cyclery or Donut City can contact SBPD Detective Jeff Gibson at (562) 799-4100 ext. 1109 or jgibson@sealbeachca.gov.

This article originally appeared on the Los Alamitos-Seal Beach Patch