Jerky shop owners with barely any customers feared their website was hacked when their phone kept buzzing — then they saw the truth on screen
What felt like another slow day at a Texas farmers' market ended with a small business owner waking up to thousands of notifications. That moment changed everything for Dawna Thompson, who owns Dawna’s Jerky, as she became the center of the global spotlight. All it took was a short video shot by a content creator at a farmers' market in Rosenberg, which later exploded online. The TikTok clip, which captured Thompson offering thinly sliced beef jerky samples at the market, was posted by David Dominguez (@davidspov_), a Katy-based content creator, on December 6, 2025. It has now garnered over 36 million views. When their phones began buzzing nonstop after the video went viral, Thompson and her husband realized something was unusual, reported Click2Houston on January 7, 2026.
@davidspov_ She makes amazing Spicy Lemon Pepper beef jerky! Giving back to the community part 92 #pov #farmersmarket #wholesome #localbusiness #vendor ♬ growth - Gede Yudis
Initially, they feared something had gone wrong, questioning whether their website had been hacked or if there was involvement of AI. However, the notifications turned out to be genuine orders from across the U.S. and even overseas. “We hear our phone just like ding, ding, ding, ding, ding,” Thompson said. “It was crazy.” She shared that it helped them a lot and said, “We have plenty of orders coming in. I didn’t even know what was going on.” The video not only caught the attention in the United States but also reached the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Thompson said, “We still have like 2,200 orders. Every time we ship, we just keep getting more in.”
Her business typically relied on weekend travel across Texas from farmers' markets to gun shows — the shift has been dramatic. Thompson, sharing her happiness, said, “We’re doing more work than normal right now.” “I honestly didn’t think much of it,” Dominguez, who shows small businesses that don't get many visitors, said. “I posted the video one night, and the next day I woke up, and she was global.” He had been creating content since 2025, after he was laid off from his job. He said, “My family likes to go to a lot of markets. When I started seeing I could help businesses, I thought maybe I could make some content and help them that way."
He started content creation as a hobby after he lost his job. However, now it’s Dominguez’s weekly routine to travel to different markets. He now travels across Texas, including Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and El Paso. He said, “They catch my attention, and I try to help them out as much as I can.” The response Thompson received left her overwhelmed, “It’s a lot of support from the community,” she admitted. “I encourage people to go to more markets,” Thompson added.
The video captioned, "She makes amazing Spicy Lemon Pepper beef jerky!" also sparked an outpouring of reactions online. "People don’t understand the courage, disappointment, and humiliation this takes, and still continue to show up," penned @iamwisedom. "I love it when people give samples. It almost guarantees I’m gonna buy something from them," remarked @bae.haus. @daburnz4 stated, "I think we may have crashed her website."
You can follow @davidspov_ on TikTok for more content.