Missouri City Donut Shop Gets Huge Opening After Sweet Tweet

MISSOURI CITY, TX — The power of social media can be pretty significant, especially when it comes to promoting a business. Satharith By, who owns Billy's Donuts in Missouri City, had a grand opening on March 9 that was very nearly missed.

His son, Billy, the namesake of the biz, saw his father sadly waiting for just one customer to come in and buy a box of donut holes, kolaches, bear claws, or any other amazing pastry during the store's grand opening.

But there were no takers. No one was coming in and Billy, who was sad for his hard working dad, expressed himself the way a lot of young people his age do in the 21st Century.

He sent out a Tweet.

The Tweet was accompanied by a photo of his dad sitting all alone in his store waiting for the plethora of customers, and a notation that indicated how sad his father was that no one came to experience the sweet and delectable goodness of Billy's Donuts.

And then, it happened.

As with some Tweets or Facebook posts, it took on a life all its own. Billy’s tweet was retweeted more than 344,000 times and received more than 767,000 likes.

In the days that followed, Billy's Donuts became a local phenom with thousands of customers lining up at the Highway 6 store for donuts during the week, and the restaurant continuously sold out of its breakfast offerings.

Within days, Billy's Donuts was featured in local media outlets, on the Missouri City Facebook Page, and on national news outlets like Newsweek, ABC News, and international media outlets as well.

The media attention also boosted the grand opening sales of Bernie's Burger Bus, located less than a mile from Billy's (now famous) Donuts. Bernie's Burger Bus, which opened its fourth Houston area location on March 15, has stayed pretty busy all week.

You can check out Billy's Donuts and Bernie's Burger Bus right here.

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