Colton, CA—Business has been booming since 1985 for Donut Star, a staple of morning diets for a large chunk of Colton High students and the community-at-large. As they near their 40th anniversary, they will be celebrating with big changes.
At the end of September, Donut Star will close its current storefront at the corner of Valley and Rancho as it prepares to open a new one directly across the street from Colton High on Valley. The new building is estimated to be completed by the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025.
The new Donut Star home will be 2,013 square feet and feature a drive-thru window.
The decision to purchase the property at 736 W. Valley Blvd. was the result of challenges involving their current lease.
According to Donut Star proprietor Sam Phearak, the owner of the Plaza on Rancho refused to renew Donut Star’s lease to stay in their current location. This caused him to end his lease and move forward with purchasing the property for the new location, which is next to the Jack-in-the-Box.
However, Phearak added that Donut Star almost moved to a different city altogether.
According to Phearak, the donut shop would have relocated to another city, but Colton Mayor Frank Navarro and the city council stepped up to fight for them to stay. They helped support with finding a solution to the lease negotiations with the owner of Plaza on Rancho.
District 3 City Councilman Dr. Luis Gonzalez, known locally as “Dr. G,” shared he received a message from Phearak to discuss a letter the owner of the plaza sent. The Plaza wanted Donut Star out of their location to remodel, which would cause the rent to increase.
“I would’ve paid the new rent or whatever it was going to cost as long as I was able to stay in that location,” Phearak said.
This led to the city’s involvement in keeping the donut shop in town.
However, with the new change also comes new challenges.
“The word on the street is that the place is going to be replaced with a Dunkin Donuts,” said Dr. G. “Sam always wanted to stay in the area because his customer base is here.”
Phearak, Dr. G, and Colton High students hope the community will continue to support Donut Star.
