The business paperwork for Kawaii Donut House may have Tiffany Lin’s name on it, but the mastermind behind the family-run business in Yelm is her 11-year-old son Brandon Pham.
After all, he named the business, drew the logo and devised many of the flavors of flower-shaped mochi donuts. He even helps sell products and interacts with customers at farmers markets and events.
Lin and her husband, Hung Pham, also own Red Lantern Asian Fusion in Yelm, but Lin had always dreamed of opening a dessert shop. They enjoyed traveling north about once a month to Edmonds for mochi donuts, and the shop they frequented served as an inspiration for the family for Kawaii Donut House. The shop began operating in 2023 thanks to the Thurston Economic Development Council’s Target Zone Small Business Startup Grant, for which Lin applied and received quickly.
Kawaii Donut House, which does not yet have a storefront, sells from Red Lantern on the weekends, along with various events in Yelm, Olympia and Lacey. The business often appears at the Olympia Farmers Market as well. Many of their ingredients are locally sourced.
While she wanted to fulfill her own dream of creating a business like Kawaii Donut House, Lin’s vision for the shop is for her son.
“A lot of the time, my son helps because sometimes I go to events and I don’t have staff. One time, I was driving him home from school and I was telling him that nobody could work that Friday night, and he was like, ‘Mommy, don’t worry. I got you,’” she said of Brandon Pham. “I feel like this business is really for him.”
Pham enjoys helping his family with both Red Lantern and Kawaii Donut House, along with school, practicing taekwondo and golf.
“I have a huge schedule,” he said. “It’s really fun to work here, and it’s really fun to do all this stuff. I want to learn more. You have to work hard to try to get what you want.”
The balance of running both businesses has presented its challenges for the family, as they only have just enough space for staff and the owners to cook Red Lantern food and prepare mochi donuts and boba tea in the kitchen.
“It’s really hard because it’s kind of compact. We have less space to chop our vegetables,” Pham said. “There’s a lot of stuff in the kitchen, and it’s kind of a big kitchen but it’s still kind of small.”
Lin, who moved to the United States from Taiwan in 2000, hopes to have a storefront for Kawaii Donut House within the next year, but she and her family, who live in Olympia, are looking for the perfect place that meets all of their criteria.
“We are looking in the Yelm, Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater area to see if there is a good space where we can put our product. We don’t want to move,” Lin said.
Despite the lack of space and the juggling act of running both shops, Lin is dedicated to serving the Yelm community that has supported her for years and spending time with her family.
“I want to have a balance with family and business. I always believe that when I die, I can sleep forever. When I have time to do things, I want to see how much I can do,” she said. “Running two businesses is a lot of work, but it’s not about the money. It’s about how you want to know how far you can go. It always can be done. I will just sleep less. I have a passion, and when my son sees that, he’s willing to work hard.”
Lin thanked the Yelm community for its support of both Red Lantern and Kawaii Donut House. She credited the residents for keeping Red Lantern open during the COVID-19 pandemic and for giving Kawaii Donut House a try over the past year.
“People are so supportive and very generous. Everything we make, we try before we give to our customers because we don’t want to give things that we don’t eat or we’re not satisfied to serve to the customer,” Lin said.
To learn more about Kawaii Donut House, visit its website at https://www.kawaiidonuthouse.com/.
