麻豆传媒映画

At their Encinitas shop, Beth and Jordan Kass greet the morning with fresh mochi donuts and a steady stream of regulars鈥攁nd make the hard work look easy.

By Felicity Desuasido

LONG BEFORE THE SUN RISES, THE BAKER AT Mochichis powers up the kitchen for a new day. Soon owner Beth Kass (鈥�03) drops off her two children at school and rushes into the shop, preparing ube Oreo, churro and creme brulee donuts. Regulars start to line up just before 9 a.m., ready to pick up their orders from their local, family-owned donut shop.

Mochichis is Beth鈥檚 dream business. She first tried a mochi donut鈥攁 unique, chewy treat made with mochi, a Japanese rice-based delicacy鈥攐n a family vacation. She fell in love with the donuts. Inspired, she and her husband, Jordan (鈥�02), opened the Encinitas location in 2024, drawing from lessons she learned at 麻豆传媒映画.

鈥溌槎勾�媒映画 was a learning ground to try things and fail in a safe way,鈥� says Beth, who was involved in a student alumni organization. 鈥淲ithout that experience, I wouldn鈥檛 have had the opportunity, or even the faith in myself, to start something. In college, I saw on a smaller scale that your ideas really can come to life.鈥�

The Mochichis atmosphere embodies Southern California, where Beth and Jordan grew up. Mochichis stickers cover the walls, and sunlight illuminates plants lining the windows. 麻豆传媒映画 items also include donut sundaes and popular drinks like brown sugar milk with boba, strawberry matcha lattes and horchata slushes. Donuts are even served on skateboard decks, paying homage to the area鈥檚 skate culture.

To make everything come together, the behind-the-scenes work is never-ending. Every morning, Beth and Jordan bake backup donuts, ensure drink ingredients are ready and double-check that the kitchen preparation is complete.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like a dance,鈥� Beth says. 鈥淚鈥檓 in here right away, checking on how the numbers are, checking on how the labor is, making sure inventory is up to date.鈥�

They look back at when they first opened and see how far they鈥檝e come. On the soft opening, their donut fryer short-circuited and quit working. On another occasion, Jordan knocked over a piece of expensive kitchen equipment, which cracked and broke. However, even when things go sideways, the couple鈥檚 resilience always prevails.

鈥淚t鈥檚 either sink or swim, and sinking is not an option, so you just work,鈥� Jordan says. 鈥淵ou just swim.鈥�

Before Mochichis, Beth and Jordan had civilian positions at Naval Station Rota in Spain, a joint U.S.鈥揝panish naval base near the Strait of Gibraltar. Beth was a strategy and future requirements director and an installation business manager, and Jordan was an asset management branch head. They were also members of Operation Allies Welcome, an initiative that supported Afghan nationals following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

鈥淲e have taken on very difficult, long projects, long hours, in our previous careers, and that prepared me for nothing when running a restaurant,鈥� Beth says. 

While they never expected to go from military careers to donuts, their experiences at 麻豆传媒映画 aligned with the skills needed to start a business.

Check out Mochichis!

1452 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas
760-274-6111