Running a Thriving Donut Shop Business

David grew up in Westport, WA and has lived in Kitsap County for the last twelve years and Kati grew up in Bremerton, WA. Both attended Western Washington University for their undergraduate degrees and Central Washington University for their masters' degrees. Currently, David is retired and enjoying the good life, while Kati works for the Bremerton School District.

Though they had never owned a business prior to Little Richard's, the opportunity to purchase the land, building, and business came up in the spring of 2021. In partnership with David's parents, they decided to take the plunge, both because of the business's long-time connection to the community and its prime location. David and Kati both worked in the store for the first few months to learn the business. The former owners were extremely helpful in training and providing resources for learning to run a bakery. Since October, they have had a manager on site to handle the day-to-day operations, and with David's parents they focus on the behind-the-scenes, including payroll, remodeling and repair, updating equipment, training staff, ordering, social media, and community engagement.

Since reopening under their management, Little Richard's has been awarded "Best of Grays Harbor" for best donut/dessert shop; expanded to seven-days-a-week operations; participated in community events such as Pirate Days, Halloween trick or treating on the docks, and the recent Wine Festival; and has continued to seek out avenues to become a contributing part of the Westport community. They are looking forward to celebrating the shop's 50th anniversary next year.