Don’s Smokehouse Howe: A Family Butcher Shop Since 1963
Don’s Smokehouse Howe is a family-owned, full-service butcher shop at 111 E. Haning St. in downtown Howe. It’s open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closed Sunday through Tuesday), and it sells fresh-cut steaks, pork, bacon and sausage alongside the jerky and snack sticks it makes by hand in its own smokehouse, including bear, elk, buffalo and venison. With hunting season and the holidays coming up, it’s a handy stop to know about before you head to the lease or start a gift list.
Name: Don’s Smokehouse
Town: Howe
Category: Butcher shop and jerky maker
Address: 111 E. Haning St., Howe, TX 75459
Phone: (214) 881-8377
Email: donssmokehouse@gmail.com
Website: donssmokehouse.com
Posted hours: Wednesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Closed Sunday–Tuesday.
A family butcher shop that started in 1963
The Davis family has been at this a long time. According to the shop’s butcher shop page, Don Davis was a meat cutter in the U.S. Air Force before he opened Don’s Smokehouse in Garland in 1963. In 1982 the business moved to a larger space in Waco, where Don and his wife, Dorothy, built it on good meat and the kind of service that made regulars feel like family.
Don died in 2000, and his son Steve Davis carried on the business with Dorothy’s blessing, according to the shop’s Facebook About section and Steve’s own LinkedIn profile, which lists him as owner since 2000. Steve and Stacy Davis now run the shop in downtown Howe, where it doubles as a full-service butcher counter, a food manufacturer, a web store and a home delivery business.
What’s in the case
The shop’s photos show a full meat case and a long wall of hanging jerky bags. It lists these as its regular counter items:
- Steaks, including prime and choice ribeye and top sirloin
- 90/10 ground sirloin and hamburger patties
- Boneless pork chops and pork short ribs
- Bacon and sausage
- Meats and cheese
- Handmade jerky and snack sticks, including elk, buffalo, venison and bear
What’s in the case changes, and the shop posts fresh cuts and specials on its Facebook page. For a big cookout or a specific cut, call ahead: the shop takes custom orders by phone, and you can call in an order and pick it up at the counter. Home delivery is offered too. Call to ask whether your address is in range.
The jerky, and how it’s made
Jerky is what Don’s is best known for outside Howe. The shop says every bag is cut, seasoned and smoked by hand in downtown Howe, the same way Don did it in 1963. Its beef jerky is made from hand-cut 98% lean beef, and the shop advertises its products as low sodium with no MSG, no gluten and no byproducts. A 2019 report in the Howe Enterprise also noted that its exotic meats are pure and not blended with pork.
On the web store, the beef jerky flavors include Texas Pepper Steak (hickory-smoked, with pepper that “barely creeps into warm,” and one of the shop’s most popular), Woodfire Garlic, Cherry Chipotle, Garlic & Pepper and Lemon Pepper. There’s also a Smoked Turkey Jerky made from boneless, skinless turkey breast with no added sugar. Snack sticks include Jalapeño & Cheddar, which the shop describes as a dried, on-the-go version of its summer sausage, and XXX Hot, which it rates at close to 300,000 Scoville. It calls that one a creeper, so don’t say you weren’t warned.
Bear, elk, buffalo or venison? A first-timer’s guide
The question the shop says it hears most is “What does bear taste like?” Its wild game snack stick guide answers it this way:
- Bear: the sweet one, made with cinnamon and brown sugar. Start here if you like sweet.
- Elk: very lean, with a lot of garlic. Bold and savory.
- Buffalo: mild, tasting a lot like breakfast sausage. The shop’s pick for first-timers and picky eaters.
- Venison: leans a little sweet. A natural for deer season.
If you’re packing for the deer stand, the shop’s own hunting season picks are Texas Pepper Steak, Woodfire Garlic, Jalapeño & Cheddar sticks, venison sticks and the Smoked Turkey Jerky. Keep the bags out of a hot truck cab.
Prices, bundles and gifts
On the web store in late October 2026, single bags of jerky and snack sticks were listed at $8, and the shop’s product pages describe the jerky bags as about 4 ounces. The bulk deals are the better value. Any 4 bags are $30 and any 10 are $65, and the discount applies automatically in the cart. A Pick 4 Sampler ($30) comes as Classic Jerky, Exotic Sticks (bear, buffalo, elk and venison) or Best of Both. Online orders of $30 or more ship free within the U.S. Prices in the shop may differ, so ask at the counter.
For the hard-to-shop-for hunter or dad on your list, the shop’s Jerky of the Month Club ($35 on the web store) ships 5 bags for the price of 4 each month.
A State Fair winner from downtown Howe
Don’s has a history at the State Fair of Texas. In its Sept. 30, 2019, issue, the Howe Enterprise reported that fair promoters voting on their favorite vendor booths picked Don’s Smokehouse for a People’s Choice Award and a $500 check. It was the only food winner; the rest were wineries. That year was the shop’s third in a row in the fair’s GO TEXAN pavilion. “It’s our biggest event of the year and it’s big exposure for us,” Steve Davis told the paper, adding that online orders were still coming in from previous years at the fair.
How to store what you buy
Because this jerky doesn’t carry the preservatives of gas-station brands, the shop’s storage guide gives a few simple rules:
- Keep sealed bags in a cool, dry pantry, away from heat and sunlight.
- Refrigerate a bag once it’s open, and press out the air when you reseal it.
- Freeze it within three weeks of purchase if you won’t finish it by then, then thaw it in the fridge.
- Toss anything that smells off, feels slimy or shows mold.
Getting there, and making a Howe stop of it
Downtown Howe sits just off U.S. 75, between Sherman and Van Alstyne. The shop’s billboard and website point drivers to Exit 53 and downtown Howe. Look for the building with the big Texas mural on its side. It’s on the same stretch of East Haning Street as Howe City Hall.
Since Don’s is closed Sunday through Tuesday, plan a Thursday, Friday or Saturday visit if you want to pair it with Howe Mercantile Howe, the antiques shop a few doors down at 107 E. Haning St., which directories list as open Thursday through Saturday. For lunch nearby, try Hana’s Cafe and Market Howe for ramen and boba, or Street Tacos Howe for tacos and pupusas. Check each spot’s current hours before you go. And if you bring home steaks, a small cooler in the truck is a good idea.
Find more local stores in our Howe shops guide, browse all three corridor towns in Gunter Grayson shops, see where to eat in Howe restaurants, or start with the Grayson County Line guide if you’re new to the area. Thinking about moving here? Our Moving to Howe, Texas guide covers the basics.
Image source: featured collage (Steve and Stacy Davis at the shop’s Texas mural, the meat case, and the jerky wall) and in-body photos via Don’s Smokehouse.
