A Place for Kin

Will Chen and Tommy Chang’s Kin Bakeshop Brings Community and Confections to Santa Barbara

The donuts and drinks at the heart of Kin Bakeshop | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom

“Anyone can make a doughnut,” said Tommy Chang, co-owner of Kin Bakeshop. “We ultimately want Kin to be more of a culture and a concept rather than just a product.”

A quick turn off of South Turnpike Road in Santa Barbara opens up an inviting world of sweet pastries and a wide selection of Asian-inspired coffee, tea, and matcha drinks. On the spine of each cup and doughnut box that leaves the shop reads “made for Kin,” to “pay homage to the community that made it all possible,” said Will Chen, co-owner of Kin Bakeshop.

Before there was a bakeshop, Chang and Chen were colleagues and friends.

The two met working at a luxury technology company in Los Angeles. When Chang’s résumé came across the table, Chen was immediately impressed with his character and qualifications, and hired him for the entry-level accounting position, even though he was “way over-qualified.”

Through their job, Chen and Chang fostered a friendship where they worked together on marketing for a little more than a year and a half. When COVID-19 hit, Chen sold his shares of the company and Chang moved back to Santa Barbara, picking up a newfound hobby of making doughnuts.

It quickly gained traction and turned into a pop-up, where Chang drew a consistent crowd excited by his sweet creations. All the while, Chen was supporting Chang from L.A. by helping him acquire the proper equipment, providing moral support, and making the drive up to Santa Barbara to support Chang’s pop-ups.

With Chen’s innovative idea for a brioche doughnut with a Japanese milk bread twist, Chang bought six countertop fryers and executed this vision. From there, the business took off and Chen came on board.

“In terms of transition, if there wasn’t really much of a transition,” said Chang. “We just both jumped into it.”

After a successful Kickstarter campaign where they raised $15,000 in a little more than a day, as well as an increasingly consistent client base, Chang and Chen opened Kin Bakeshop in June 2023.

Tommy Chang (left) and Will Chen, partners in Kin Bakeshop | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom

Long Lines Are Fun

A Santa Barbara native, growing up “just a stone’s throw away,” Chang is familiar with the area. Co-owner Will Chen hails from Chino Hills and is now a newcomer to Santa Barbara.

With little professional culinary experience and neither of the two having ever worked in the hospitality industry, Chang and Chen had to make important decisions ranging from hiring sincere staff to how to run day-to-day baking operations in the kitchen.

Happy customers at Kin Bakeshop | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom

“The first year was very chaotic. It was very unorganized. There was so much to figure out,” said Chen. “For the longest time, I literally felt like the blind leading the blind, where we don’t know what’s going on.”

All the while, there was a line of people stretching out the door and spilling across the patio. For passersby, this steady line can be intimidating. But the customer base that Kin draws, as well as Chen and Chang’s philosophy on the line, makes all the difference.

Chang himself has wondered why regulars will wait an hour every time they want a matcha. “A lot of them tell me being in line is actually part of the experience, part of the fun,” he said.

The line is more than merely an organized waiting procedure; it is also an organic place for community and meeting. This also extends into the store with the bench seating lining the inner wall. Chang and Chen made the executive decision to install a bench instead of tables to encourage more interaction.

“By creating a space where you have to sit next to somebody, you are meant to talk to each other if you want,” said Chang, explaining a recent interaction between a regular and a woman visiting from L.A., from “completely different life stages.” They wound up talking for two hours.

“When we created and built this space,” explained Chang, “we wanted to take away the excess so that we can focus on the people, focus on the product.”

Crowd lineups are a frequent sight at Kin Bakeshop | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom

The positive atmosphere at Kin is also thanks to the caring team that Chang and Chen have built, which they call their “family.” Their hiring strategy was to accrue dedicated and amiable staff. “We can always learn how to do things, but to teach somebody to be a good culture fit is a lot more difficult,” said Chen.

Looking through the window at Kin Bakeshop | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom

Between manning the register and pitching weekly menu items, the staff at Kin play a transformative role in the business. As mentors seeking to provide professional development opportunities, Chen and Chang guide staff members, usually university students, through sharpening their life skills, offering experience in marketing, photography, or even accounting.

“We’re trying to use Kin as a platform behind the scenes too, to grow together as people,” Chang said. “We just focus on taking care of the people who walk through our doors and taking care of the team, and just putting our heart and soul into everything that we make here.”

Another substantial factor in Kin’s success is a patient and devoted customer base. Chang recalls in the early days when he was doing pop-ups, there were quantity restrictions due to the kitchen equipment he was using. This meant that the people at the end of a long line may wait almost an hour and not even receive a doughnut.

“We’ve had so many people who are so generous and will buy a doughnut and say, ‘Give it to the last person in line’ or ‘Give it to the next person in line,’” said Chen. “Or someone will just give us a hundred and say it’s for whoever it covers.”

Shakas & Sesame Matchas

The spirit of Kin is encapsulated by their signature logo of a shaka hand. The emblem is inspired by “the aloha spirit” that Chang felt on a recent trip that he took to Hawai‘i. He recalls sitting in traffic and turning on his blinker to change lanes, and the man in the car beside him just stopped to let him go.

“I remember passing him and looking in my rearview mirror and he put up a shaka. That stuck with me,” Chang said. “That’s the kind of feeling I wanted to embody to people around me.”

The community is, of course, drawn to the unique, Asian-inspired doughnut flavors and drink selection that earned Kin Bakeshop the coveted number-four position for best doughnut shop in the nation, according to Yelp. “It’s not about the accolades for us — we can be fourth; we can be last,” said Chen. “We’re just gonna put the same effort into what we do.”

Flavors like matcha and strawberry are frequently on the menu at Kin | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom

Drawing inspiration from their childhood favorites and recipes unique to their heritage, Chen and Chang have crafted a menu that reflects their personal experiences. Growing up in Taiwan, Chen often had many mochi-based products. Kin has emulated this flavor and texture through the signature mochi doughnuts. For Chang, the black sesame flavor is reminiscent of his childhood, now embodied in Kin’s black sesame matcha and espresso.

Chang’s favorite drink, the mugwort tea, pays homage to a flavor that he originally was not fond of growing up. He has enjoyed the challenge of crafting a drink that “is so traditional to my culture into a drink that I would like and the community would like.”

Specialty drinks | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom

While reconciling their culture and identity through the business, Chang and Chen have also grown together as friends and co-business owners. When asked about the business’ impact on their relationship, they jokingly taunted one another before taking a more serious tone.

“There’s no pretending in front of each other. We’re just honest with each other,” said Chang. “I wouldn’t do this with anybody else.”

Starting a business comes with a great deal of ups and downs. “But I think at the end of the day, we both know that we have the same goals and values, and we want to achieve the same things,” said Chen.

After almost two years in business, Chen and Chang feel overwhelmed with gratitude for their business’ success and are beginning to look to the future of the store. They have already arranged three events testing the waters by opening up Kin at night and experimenting with a selection of savory foods.

One thing is for certain: Chen and Chang have built the spirit of kin. They are hoping to expand this energy into other industries and endeavors, whether it be culinary or other.

“As long as the spirit of kin is there,” said Chang.

199 S. Turnpike Rd. #103; (805) 705-8498; instagram.com/kinbakeshop