Heroes Donuts in Martinez is named in honor of the military and first responders, something close to the heart of founder Miles Sao, who served in the army for 20 years.
His family escaped a death camp in Cambodia when he was a toddler, forever engraining in him the importance of freedom, he said.
“That’s why I served in the force was to do my part to keep the country free,” he said. “The U.S. gave us a second chance at life.”
After leaving the army, Sao wanted to start his own business and remembered some friends of his in Louisiana had started a donut shop.
“There’s less risk with a donut shop than other things, so it’s a good business to start with,” he said.
Even with opening Heroes Donuts the week before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared an emergency in March 2020, Sao says the shop has seen its profit grow each year. The city was supportive of Heroes and other small businesses throughout the pandemic, he said.
In the past year, inflationary pressures have cut into the shop’s profit because Sao doesn’t want to raise prices enough to combat the 50% to 70% increase in supply costs, he said.
Sao runs the shop with his wife, Jocelyn, and his 16-year-old daughter, Breanna, and 12-year-old son, Alexander.
“It’s very satisfying for me to see kids or the elderly really enjoy donuts,” he said. “It’s very rewarding to brighten peoples’ day with something.”
He comes in at midnight to start the baking and usually leaves in the morning when his wife comes in to take over. Rather than sleeping during the day, Sao said he prefers to take naps. The unusual sleep schedule goes back to his time in the army when he’d sometimes get eight hours of sleep for a full week, he said.
Sao said having escaped Cambodia as a child, he sees his purpose as giving back to his community in whatever way he can.
“It’s one of those things where we shouldn’t be alive,” he said. “Someone had a hand in it for us to be alive.”
