MISSOURI CITY, Texas— All it took was a tweet.
Less than 24 hours later, a newly-opened empty Texas doughnut shop was flooded with customers.
A young man named Billy tweeted out photos on Saturday of his father inside a desolate doughnut shop and an empty parking lot saying, “My dad is really sad cause no one is coming to his new donut shop😭.”
My dad is sad cause no one is coming to his new donut shop 😭 pic.twitter.com/y5aGB1Acrc
— Billy's Donuts (@BillysDonuts) March 9, 2019
The tweet went viral, garnering more than 715K likes and over 313K retweets, all thanks to the verified page for Twitter.
Twitter picked up Billy’s tweet saying, “You donut want to miss out on Billy’s and neither do we! We’ll be there tomorrow morning 🍩♥️
#LoveTwitter.”
You donut want to miss out on Billy’s and neither do we! We’ll be there tomorrow morning 🍩♥️#LoveTwitter https://t.co/NpTAXW4R53
— Twitter (@Twitter) March 10, 2019
Shocked by the response, the son added the address to his dad’s shop, affectionately named Billy’s Donuts. The rest was history.
Word spread quickly, and hundreds of patrons stopped by the doughnut shop and posted photos of their purchases from the small business.
Twitter user @reihene retweeted one of the first reviews from a first-time patron which stated, “This is a review from a customer who just went to Billy’s Donuts this morning in Houston! I’m so glad to see the power of social media and its good impact to the real life. This thing got me to my real emotions.”
This is a review from a customer who just went to Billy’s Donuts this morning in Houston! I’m so glad to see the power of social media and its good impact to the real life. This thing got me to my real emotions. 😭
Credits to @/lets_eat_htx on Instagram 🤝 pic.twitter.com/txqFgcJPlK
— Hana (@reihene) March 10, 2019
The son took to Twitter with an exciting update, following the social media frenzy. His father’s freshly-stocked inventory had completely sold out!
Just wanted to update yall! We completely sold out of donuts and kolaches! You are all amazing. I can't thank everyone enough for coming out and supporting local businesses. This means so much to my family ❤️ pic.twitter.com/o3GQcKvVnG
— Billy's Donuts (@BillysDonuts) March 10, 2019
Twitter made good on their word, and sent over a team of employees to visit the Texas shop, even reportedly paying for some of the delectables for other customers.
💛 @hibillyby pic.twitter.com/bPNfiQLCSS
— Twitter (@Twitter) March 11, 2019