If it suddenly seems like Lee’s Donuts are everywhere, that’s because they are.

The humble mom-and-pop shop that started on Granville Island in 1979 has grown into a 10-location (and counting) empire of sugar and flour and joy. And it’s all thanks to the vision of Allan and Celine Bacani.

The husband-and-wife duo aren’t the founders of Lee’s, but their connection to it runs deep. Allan’s father is the owner of Armando’s Finest Quality Meats: a butcher that also operates a stall out of the Granville Island Public Market. Allan grew up with the scent of Lee’s iconic honey dip donuts wafting through the air when he worked in his dad’s shop; he and his colleagues would often pool their tip money to buy a box, combatting the 3pm slump with a hit of doughy bliss. When word got around that Betty-Ann Lee, who opened Lee’s with her late husband, was putting the shop up for sale, Allan went to his own wife, Celine (who has a background in real estate), with the idea that they buy it. He’d always wanted to run his own shop, and this was one he knew well.

“My dad wasn’t retiring,” Allan jokes. “He always told me, ‘I know you have the entrepreneurial spirit, so when you find your thing, just go for it.’” Celine didn’t need much convincing. “For us, it was not just the potential to have it support the kind of lifestyle that we wanted, but it presented a huge brand opportunity,” she says. “We were like, ‘Oh my gosh, they started something really cool here.’ It’s such a lovable brand that we knew we could have fun with.”

They bought Lee’s in 2017, and have since made it their mission, as self-described custodians of the brand, to expand its Canadian footprint. Below, the couple discusses their journey so far, how Pavilion fits in, and what’s next for everyone’s favourite humble treat. How do you balance honouring the heritage of Lee’s while also innovating and growing it?

Allan: We always viewed it as a mom-and-pop shop, and we still do. Albeit, there are multiple locations now, but that doesn’t necessarily take away from the candidates who we qualify to operate these other locations—all of them are moms and pops. That’s what we want to keep as the soul of our brand: it’s a humble donut shop that’s meant to be accessible, not just on the product side but also on the business side.

Celine: And as we grow, it’s natural that we go through a lot of change. You have to systemize and standardize to be able to stay in business; what worked in 1979 is not going to work today, so we welcome that change. But we’re always honouring the legacy of what it was, because that’s also our cool factor—that’s our differentiating factor that not a lot of small businesses can carry with them. So like Alan said, when we’re choosing who we’re allowing to continue that legacy [with franchised locations], that piece of it is really integrated in the interview process: can they honour what was built? Because you’re not looking for people to necessarily innovate Lee’s Donuts. You’re looking for people to continue Lee’s Donuts.

Allan: We like our shops owner-operated. It gives it a different energy. And I think that’s what really sets our multi-unit operation apart from others: you can go to Willowbrook Mall or Steveston and talk to the people who own and operate the shop.

What about the recipes? Have you kept those the same or experimented?

Celine: It’s 100 per cent the same. Same suppliers, same recipes. That part we didn’t need to innovate. For us, what differentiates us is the simplicity of a vanilla cake, a chocolate cake, anda yeast donut, period. So whether you’re serving someone who’s nine years old or 90 years old, they can rely on that classic donut. What’s been the most surprising for you so far?

Allan: Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised at this point, because it makes sense—but I’m surprised by the fact that I’ve been able to work with Celine for eight years.

Celine: Good answer!

Allan: We’re still married. It’s not easy working with your spouse, and it’s something that we’ve worked on over the years. I’m surprised every day by it. It’s great. It’s a win for us.

How do you tackle that?

Allan: It’s super integrated. The whole concept of leaving the personal stuff at the door when you go to work and leaving the work stuff at the door when you come home, that doesn’t work for us. We understand that Celine and I are two very different people with two very different personalities. When we’re trying to be productive in business or in marriage or even as parents, it’s about trying our best to put the ego aside to make it work. Because ultimately, it’s not about being right. It’s not about having the last word. It’s just about: can we accomplish what we’re trying to accomplish?

How did you discover Pavilion?

Celine: I came across Pavilion through my real estate work. As we grew, our head office down in Marpole was no longer big enough. We had offices at every store, but those were for the managers of the store. So where could our head office team live? Pavilion was able to fill in that need and continues to do that, because we don’t know how much space we’re going to need and what the home base is going to look like five years from now. So it’s the perfect place between having your own head office and the stores at the retail level.

Allan: The community is really nice. Everybody who we’ve interacted with from the administration side, they’ve just been so sweet and so welcoming and very helpful. And it’s a nice energy to see other businesses in different stages. It feels like you’re part of a cool club.

What’s next for Lee’s?

Celine: Definitely more expansion. We’re diving deep into the brand a little bit more, and having fun with things like merchandise and other stuff that’s beyond donuts, and exploring different communities to support in terms of stores. We’re definitely fixing to be that brand that moves across Canada. We have our eye on Calgary, Toronto, and anyone else that will have us. We always felt like we were custodians of the brand, so it’s about how we can build it. Because we feel like it could be Canada’s brand, and we’re acting as such.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.