In June 1882, the British sailing ship Monarch brought Arsenio and Amelia DoRego from São Miguel Island, Portugal to Maui, Hawaii, under contract to work in the sugar cane fields. Thirty-three years later, their grandson Leonard was born. In 1946, Leonard and his wife Margaret moved to Honolulu with their 8-year-old daughter Diane. Leonard worked at Snowflake Bakery until he founded Leonard's Bakery℠ in 1952.
Leonard and Margaret, both coming from large families, were no strangers to hard work. The bakery thrived, and not long after its opening, Leonard's mother suggested making malasadas for Shrove Tuesday, a Portuguese tradition. Despite concerns that it might be too ethnic, Leonard's bakers followed her suggestion. Malasadas became a huge hit, and thus, the appetite for malasadas in Hawaii was born.
