New donut shop by Fresno High just latest from sisters. They have 2 other spots
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- City Donuts reopens near Fresno High after a yearlong renovation by sisters.
- Menu expands beyond donuts to sandwiches, Asian pastries, drinks and smoothies.
- Sisters balance bakery growth with farming aspirations and community focus.
A popular donut shop near Fresno High School has reopened after undergoing a year-long renovation by its new owners, sisters Thary and Thida Ky.
City Donuts, formerly Supreme Donuts, is on the southwest corner of McKinley and Palm avenues and is the third bakery/sandwich shop for the Ky sisters. They already own and operate a store in Fresno at Chestnut and Olive and they opened their first City Donuts store in Reedley 15 years ago.
From the beginning the sisters have strived to create more than just a donut shop. Their menu features an assortment of goodies, including fluffy donuts, breakfast sandwiches, lunch sandwiches, egg rolls, chicken and sticky rice and even bierocks. The sandwiches are made on a bagel or a house-made buttery croissant.
The bakery also has full selection of drinks, including smoothies in 16 flavors, Vietnamese iced coffee, milk tea, fruit tea, frappes, butterfly pea tea and matcha.
And more menu items may be on the way.
“We make a really good burger at the Reedley store and I would like to add it here,” said Thida Ky, who oversees the Reedley bakery. “I think the high school kids might like it.”
Thary Ky, who runs the new Fresno store, said she and her family had been eyeing the Fresno High area location for several years as they deliberated about whether to expand or pursue their other passion, farming.
Ky’s father grew sugar cane and chiles in his native Cambodia and when the Ky sisters arrived in the U.S. more than a decade ago, they too wanted to become farmers. But the start-up costs were high and finding an affordable piece of property was a challenge.
They shelved the idea and instead settled in the Bay Area where they learned the donut business from a relative who had a donut shop in Gilroy. Within six months, another relative found a donut store in Reedley that was available to lease.
They jumped at the chance and have never regretted it. Although they admit the journey from Cambodian immigrants to successful bakery owners has not been easy. There were days when their young children cried as they left for work or times when they were too tired to drive home.
Thary Ky remembers an extra long shift a few years ago in Reedley when they finished working just a few hours before they were scheduled to reopen.
“We decided it didn’t make sense to go home, so we decided to sleep in our Toyota Camry for a few hours and then go back to work,” she said. “Everything was fine until a police officer knocked on our window. We got so scared, but he just wanted to tell us it wasn’t safe out here.”
The two sisters laughed as they retold the story, adding that they decided to sleep inside the bakery by putting two of the store’s benches together.
And for the record, the Ky sisters have not given up on their farming dream.
“Maybe we will start off with something simple persimmons and jujubes,” Thida Ky said.
City Donuts is open weekdays, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday, 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
