Long Beach doughnut shop puts eclectic, whimsical twist on classic sweet treats

In a region packed with doughnut shops, Moonbridge Doughnut Studio in Long Beach stands out from the crowd with its eclectic designs, including edible berry crumb Labubus and a series inspired by author Roald Dahl.

I’ve had my eye on Moonbridge, which is on the corner of East Spring Street and Palo Verde Avenue, for more than six months — ever since images of its doughnuts inspired by the T.V. show Avatar: The Last Airbender popped up on my Instagram feed in February.

So I headed to the shop early Thursday morning to satisfy my hunger — and curiosity — and to see if the treats are worth the hype.

Co-owner Anabelle Brown told LAist the look and feel of Moonbridge are as if famed director Wes Anderson had a quirky little sister who went to art school and then opened up a doughnut shop.

For Roald Dahl week, the James and the Giant Peach doughnut featured a tiny peach plopped in the center and chocolate insect-shaped decorations to represent the main characters.

An “Ube Wan Cannoli” doughnut, with a chocolate-covered pretzel that looks like a lightsaber, combined tributes to the Star Wars movies and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

And in an homage to Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, the “Soots in Cahoots” doughnuts were covered in colorful stars and three soot sprites from his movie Spirited Away.

“We tried to not only be, like, aesthetically pleasing but really try to communicate our story,” Brown said, adding that the story of the shop is “very heartfelt for us.”

She noted that she and co-owner Kim Gros were intentional about opening the shop in Long Beach “because our stories connect so much in this area,” including other shops owned by Brown’s family.

Anabelle Brown, co-owner of Moonbridge Doughnut Studio in Long Beach.

(

Makenna Sievertson

/

LAist

)

How Moonbridge came to be

Brown was approached by Gros a few years ago with her concept of opening an artisanal doughnut shop with quality coffee that could bring a lot of joy to customers, in part, by incorporating pop culture into the fare.

Brown, who has a background in baking and art, said she felt confident exploring ideas for new designs and flavors, but doughnuts were a new medium.

Brown, who is Cambodian American, comes from a long line of doughnut shop owners. Five of her relatives run shops in California and Arizona, including the Long Beach bakery Simone’s Donuts. The business’ namesake is Brown’s grandmother.

Co-owner Anabelle Brown grabs doughnuts for a pair of customers at Moonbridge Doughnut Studio in Long Beach.

(

Makenna Sievertson

/

LAist

)

Doughnuts are a big part of the L.A. County landscape, which can be traced back to one man who came to California from Cambodia in 1975 and later bought a doughnut shop. He wound up sponsoring many Cambodians who came to the U.S. during a refugee wave in the late 1970s, and he taught them the doughnut biz.

Brown didn’t grow up working in her relatives’ shops. Her father took a different path. He became an architect.

But the “doughnut shop world,” as she put it, wasn’t completely foreign to her.

“This idea and this concept felt very accessible for me,” she said. “And it was just like, ‘OK, I just need to learn the way of, like, the doughnut shop.’”

Brown studied her family’s shops, something she called a “personal doughnut pilgrimage,” learning how to make the pastries all on her own.

Brown’s grandfather died while she and Gros were developing the concept of the shop, and Moonbridge became even more meaningful, she said.

Moonbridge, which officially opened in April 2024, is a “love letter” to the people who’ve come before, she said, while “trying to create a place that feels celebratory and joyful.”

Quirky creations

Moonbridge is best known for its creative pop culture themes, including a series of six doughnuts inspired by Mean Girls that launched Thursday. Some of the doughnuts are named after well-known quotes from the 2004 movie.

The “It’s October 3rd” doughnut is coated in malted strawberry milkshake icing, as is the “Get in Loser” option, which is also topped off with a tiny pink car.

As one Instagram user — @phoebe_eats — wrote in a comment: It's the collab "millennials all need to heal our heart."

I had to grab the “Burn Book” doughnut, a reference to a key plot point in the movie, made with salted malted vanilla icing and black-and-white letters that looked freshly affixed by Regina George, the queen mean girl herself.

The dough felt light and fluffy under all the icing, but it also wasn’t too sweet to discourage me from taking another bite.

“We still try to have certain flavors and items that feel nostalgic or classic, but just having our own Moonbridge twist to things,” Brown said.

Brown has taken songs or scenes from movies and TV shows and transformed them into doughnuts, including “Speed Demon” by Justin Bieber with a tiny car and the chocolate cake confession with Miss Trunchbull from the movie Matilda, which was coated in ganache.

Brown has a spreadsheet titled “reckless abandon mode” that includes all of Moonbridge’s new flavors, recipes and lineups, which she said helps keep her creative juices flowing.

How to taste it for yourself

Moonbridge Doughnut Studio

Where: 6344 E. Spring St., Long Beach

When: Seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Please note: The themed doughnuts are available on the counter starting at 9 a.m., but you can also pre-order to make sure you don’t miss out.

The shop shares its upcoming lineup on Instagram, including a KPop Demon Hunters theme in about two weeks and Twilight at the end of October, as well as The Grinch and Nightmare Before Christmas in December.

Moonbridge's "Coffee & Cigarettes" doughnut includes java chip icing and an Italian breadstick with "ash" made of Oreo cookie crumbs.

(

Makenna Sievertson

/

LAist

)