--- title: Viral Photo of 'Sad Dad' Gives Boon to Billy's Donuts description: People are rallying behind Billy's Donuts in Texas after a very sad photo of the sad dad owner in the empty shop went viral. canonical: https://time.com/5548990/billys-donuts-texas/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-11T13:21:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:09.977Z og:title: Son's Viral Post Saves Dad's Donut Shop og:description: Donuts are selling like hot cakes now og:url: https://time.com/5548990/billys-donuts-texas/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Son's Viral Post Saves Dad's Donut Shop twitter:description: Donuts are selling like hot cakes now twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This 'Sad Dad' Wasn't Selling Any Donuts. Then His Son's Viral Post Came to the Rescue > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=5a21e27e-43de-412c-ba3f-fb58530278ab&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donut Facts To Devour [Watch (HLS stream): Donut Facts To Devour](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vOQXdrKH.m3u8) (1:24)  _Published 2018-05-31. MONEY_ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Mar 11, 2019 1:21 PM UTC by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Mar 11, 2019 1:21 PM UTC An empty [doughnut shop](http://time.com/5447852/doughnut-store-uplifting/) [Billy’s Donuts](http://time.com/2837756/donut-or-doughnut/) got a powerful dose of publicity once the owner’s son’s viral photo propelled his dad’s business to internet stardom. People are rallying around the recently opened [Missouri, Texas donut shop](http://time.com/5218797/dunkin-donuts-running-shoes-boston-marathon/) that just wasn’t getting any customers. It all began on Saturday when the owner’s son, Billy By, devised a plan to get things humming: tweet a photo of his endearing father at the register with a tearful emoji. “My dad is sad ’cause no one is coming to his new donut shop,” he wrote. > [](https://twitter.com/hibillyby/status/1104473014291185665) As the picture illustrated, business was clearly in a sorry state. “Sad dad,” as he was dubbed, was just waiting for people to scoop up the chocolate glazed doughnuts, Fruity pebble topped doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, and kolaches. But he wasn’t a sad dad for long. It worked. People on the internet had a big appetite for the saga, as his original post got 262,000 people talking about Billy’s Donuts, making a destination out of the spot. “On my way,” Casey Neistat tweeted to his nearly 2 million followers. > [](https://twitter.com/CaseyNeistat/status/1104826211304382464) Plea answered. And best of all, fans in real life have lined up by the baker’s dozen to purchase the treats prepared at 7022 Highway 6, Suite 800 in Missouri City. “Thank everyone so much! We sold out today! We appreciate all the love and support. My dad isn’t sad anymore!” By wrote on the company’s Facebook page. The sweet story even landed on Twitter’s radar, as the company’s official account shared its support. “You donut want to miss out on Billy’s and neither do we! We’ll be there tomorrow morning #LoveTwitter.” > [](https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1104849491776233481) No one, not even this sad dad, is alone. The business’s Instagram account now has 53,000 followers as of Monday morning. Suffice it to say people are going nuts for these doughnuts. What a weekend. > [](https://twitter.com/hibillyby/status/1104584029096030209) Billy By did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment on this story. > [](https://twitter.com/sidneymori/status/1104782329761931264) > [](https://twitter.com/reihene/status/1104797381663481856) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5548990/billys-donuts-texas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5548990/billys-donuts-texas/"},"headline":"This 'Sad Dad' Wasn't Selling Any Donuts. 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