Twinkies Flying Off Store Shelves

The same day Hostess Brands Inc. announced it will close someone came in and bought all the Twinkies from the Village West Giant Food Store.

Hostess announced Friday that it had filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court asking permission to close and sell assets--including its iconic baked good brands and facilities--in the wake of a massive employee strike. 

Giant Store Manager Jeff Pierpoint said people came in after the announcement and "bought all the Twinkies." As of noon Nov. 17 there were still some other varieties available.

Everything, however, was gone from the Weis Market on Route 873 in North Whitehall, according to Customer Service Manager Claudia Hanblovic.

"Everything except the (Wonder) bread is gone," Hanblovic said.

Hostess lovers are hoping someone will buy the company and continue producing the products but none have come forth publicly--at least yet. Competitors, like Tastykake, aren't talking. Tastykake was bought by Georgia-based Flowers Foods in 2011.

In a recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirier, a Flowers spokesman said "It is not our place to talk about any other company's business.... However, this is an unfortunate situation and we are very sad for all those impacted."

The Huffington Post reports: One eBay seller is auctioning off a full box of Twinkies at a starting (and staggering) price of $200,000 (shipping included) and there is also a bizarre brand of petition that has been filed with the White House seeking to turn President Obama into the Hugo Chavez of Twinkies. The petition, titled "Nationalize the Twinkie industry," seeks to turn back the clock on Hostess Brands' going out of business and liquidation.

CNN Money reported: A lunch box featuring "Twinkie the Kid," a cartoon cowboy character that bears a striking resemblance to the iconic yellow cake, fetched a winning bid of $690 on Friday.     

According to a Friday press release from Hostess: The wind down means the closure of 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, approximately 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores throughout the United States.

“We deeply regret the necessity of today’s decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike,” said Gregory F. Rayburn, chief executive officer. “Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders.”

In a letter to employees, Hostess writes: As you know, for many months the Company has been working with our unions, lenders and other stakeholders to reach a consensual resolution to legacy costs and labor contracts. Despite everyone’s considerable efforts to move Hostess out of its restructuring, when we began implementing the Company’s last, best and final offer, the Bakers Union chose to stage a crippling strike. This affected Hostess' ability to continue to make products and service its customers' needs and pushed Hostess into a Wind Down scenario. As a result, we are forced to proceed with an orderly wind down and sale of our operations and assets. We deeply regret taking this action. But we simply cannot continue to operate without the ability to produce or deliver our products.

Read more details about the closure and Hostess' battle with its unions.