California Donuts and Deli is a true Stockton-born business, developing in the face of all the hardships this city faces.
Located at 4130 El Dorado and Churchill streets intersection, the family-owned restaurant opened its doors in October 2015.
“We serve anything from a burger, to a teriyaki bowl even ice cream, smoothies and milkshakes,” said Jim Ka.
Ka, a veteran businessman who also works full time as an electronics tech, came to his new-found location with the goal of bringing his customers an establishment with an emphasis on both excellent customer service and quality food.
“Good service is very important, along with good food. I don’t care how good the food is if you don’t have good service. It can go either way but I believe in both,” said Ka.
Ka refuses to sacrifice the quality of his food to make quicker to produce the food.
Meat and vegetables for orders like cheeseburgers and teriyaki bowls aren’t cut until ordered.
“All the food here, we do not do anything until someone orders. Once you order, we make it… even salad for example, we don’t cut the vegetables until it’s ordered. Even cheese is not shredded until it’s ordered. It’s all fresh,”
Despite a growing popularity, the shop is still in its developing stages.
Ka said he hasn’t ventured far into advertising because he still feels the need to meet a couple large milestones.
The primary milestone is to reach is to develop a system which would allow his shop to get the food to his customers quicker.
“My biggest goal is to come up with a system, kind of like McDonald’s or whatever. That way, if there is rush hour, everyone knows what to do. Not that they don’t know what to do, they know, but the system is not there for them 100 percent, A through Z. The goal is to have this system before I put the shop in the spotlight,” said Ka.
The Deli has developed a small social media status, particularly through the efforts of Ka’s daughter, April Prak.
“I have Facebook and Instagram pages for the shop but, I haven’t gotten into social media too much,” Said Prak.
Ka also wants to update much of shops performance and equipment. From updating his grill, to developing an electronic system that informs the kitchen staff of each individual order, from milkshakes to teriyaki chicken sandwiches.
“Everyday I’m writing down a certain thing to make this business quicker, or a burger, smoothie. Want station does what. What is the time to cook a burger? How do we cook it quicker? Once I get that figured out, I’ll go through and add a electronic system front and back, but it’s easier said than done,” he said.