Pana Donuts to open in Lafayette, bringing award-winning doughnuts and boba tea

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A new doughnut maker is moving into the Greater Lafayette market after proving themselves a highly-desired pastry maker in the Indianapolis area.

Arron Sok, owner of Pana Donuts, said the family will celebrate opening their first Pana Donuts location in Lafayette, their sixth store in total, by August. The store will be located at 170 S. Creasy Lane in the former Gigi's Cupcakes store front.

After Sok's family opened their first store in Beech Grove in 2019, Sok said he and his family have continued to steadily grow and expand across the Indianapolis area, serving their award-winning doughnuts and boba bubble tea. Looking for their next location, Sok said his realtor took him on a quick road trip up north to Tippecanoe County.

"I'd never thought about Lafayette, but the draw of Purdue was intriguing," Sok said. "It's a great city. I went up there with him for one day and said I'd like to try it here."

Sok's parents owned a bakery in Cambodia, he told the Indianapolis Star during a 2023 interview. He immigrated to the U.S. in 2013 and worked in bakeries in Texas before opening a shop in Arizona.

While his family's shop did not make doughnuts, Sok said he incorporated some of its cake and bread-making processes into Pana's donut recipe. Sok and his wife, Pichima Prum, moved to Indianapolis for its low cost of living and family atmosphere. They own and operate the flagship Pana store, while subsequent locations on 86th Street, Washington Street and in Fishers and Avon are owned and managed by family members, who each use his secret recipe.

The Lafayette Pana Donuts will be operated by Sok's cousin, Bumron Lon, who said fans of the Indianapolis area Pana locations can expect the exact same product at the Lafayette store.

"We do it all by hand — every doughnut — making them fresh every morning," Lon said. "Hopefully customers will come support us knowing we are the number one doughnut in Indy."

Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached by email at jellison@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ellison_writes.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Pana Donuts is opening in Lafayette, here's where you can find them