{"id":887,"date":"2018-03-12T18:04:42","date_gmt":"2018-03-13T01:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/?p=63342"},"modified":"2018-03-12T18:04:42","modified_gmt":"2018-03-13T01:04:42","slug":"do-goods-tyler-lee-takes-a-big-chance-on-little-donuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/do-goods-tyler-lee-takes-a-big-chance-on-little-donuts","title":{"rendered":"DO GOOD\u2019s Tyler Lee Takes a Big Chance on Little Donuts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-63346\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/DSC_0499-970x649.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Owner of Do Good Donuts, Tyler Lee. Photos by Asia Morris.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Almost two weeks ago, and after years of dreaming up her 4th Street mini donutery, proprietress Tyler Lee opened the door of Do Good Donuts to a line down the block. She held back a few tears at the sight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess I just couldn\u2019t let myself believe that that\u2019s what I should be anticipating,\u201d Lee said about the store\u2019s soft opening. \u201cNo one will ever know, unless they\u2019ve opened a small food business, how much work goes into it. And that\u2019s fine, that\u2019s not my customers\u2019 job to know that, but I went to open the door and I got kind of choked up. I had to compose myself because I just couldn\u2019t believe that this day was finally here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lee\u2019s take on offering seasonal items, including the Lemon Curd with Citrus Sugar mini donut, is inspired by her native Central California. Raised between Bakersfield and Fresno, Lee experienced a rich upbringing surrounded by an agricultural lifestyle, but felt that she needed to expand her horizons.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-63347\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/DSC_0546-970x649.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always knew I wouldn\u2019t settle down there,\u201d Lee said. \u201cIt\u2019s just too small for me, too conservative for me. So I moved here right after high school and went to Cal State Long Beach and absolutely fell in love with Long Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lee began to consider opening a small business of her own during her time as a manager at Frosted Cupcakery. She helped the local Belmont Shore bakery expand to neighboring cities and although she wasn\u2019t sure what her own small business would provide, found that the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurship were for her.<\/p>\n<p>After five years with Frosted Cupcakery it was time to move on. Lee was able to use her degree in psychology\u2014she graduated from CSULB in 2009\u2014to find a job doing intake and admissions for eating disorder treatment facilities for almost three years. Commuting back and forth between Santa Monica and Long Beach, however, eventually took its toll. The Belmont Heights resident began to ponder ways she could make a living closer to home and to her family.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/DSC_0457.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-63343 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/DSC_0457-970x649.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"401\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>The All the Good Things (ATGT) donut: traditional vanilla &amp; nutmeg cake donut, coated in cinnamon sugar, drizzled with local S&amp;P Honey, &amp; Nutella then sprinkled with Himalayan sea salt.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The turn of events that resulted in Do Good Donuts\u2019 existence is fairly serendipitous. Lee and her husband had made-to-order mini donuts at their wedding by a company who catered out of a vintage trailer. Then, on their \u201cbaby moon\u201d to Portland and a visit to Pip\u2019s Original Donuts &amp; Chai, a mini donutery, the couple sat there thinking, \u201cWhy is this not in Long Beach?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sitting at home with her daughter one evening, Lee said she realized it was a \u201cnow or never moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe stars just kind of aligned with this spot,\u201d Lee said, on finding that 2707 East 4th Street had opened up. \u201cI mean that\u2019s truly how I look at it. It was just the right place, right time, right idea, Long Beach didn\u2019t have anything like this, and it would do so well in Long Beach, I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-63345\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/DSC_0493-970x649.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now a part of the \u201cLong Beach small business club,\u201d Lee is looking forward to collaborating with local nonprofits, as well as other small businesses, including Long Beach Creamery. In a year\u2019s time, she hopes Do Good Donuts will be a reflection of her customers\u2019 needs and a space for the community to gather that simply feels good to be in.<\/p>\n<p>Inadvertently, Lee\u2019s background in mental health and desire to spread positivity shines through this mini donut venture, especially with the Do Good Donuts tagline \u201cGood People. Good Times. Good Donuts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about Do Good Donuts via the website <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dogooddonuts.com\/\">here<\/a>\u00a0and follow along on Instagram <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dogooddonutslb\/\">@dogooddonutslb<\/a>. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for April 27 during Fourth Fridays.<\/p>\n<p><em>Do Good Donuts is located at\u00a02707 East 4th Street.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lee\u2019s take on offering seasonal items, including the Lemon Curd with Citrus Sugar mini donut, is inspired by her native Central California.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":66385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[406],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-donuts","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=887"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}