Customers empty stores shelves of Hostess products - Fox 2 News Headlines

By Ronnie Dahl
Fox 2 News Reporter

TROY, Mich. (WJBK) -- The Hostess brand -- to so many it's more than just sugary treats and baked goods.  It's part of their childhood and everyone has a favorite.

But the company announced Friday it's going out of business.  Now the mad dash is on to stockpile the sweet treats, especially the much loved Twinkies.

At the Hostess outlet store in Southgate, the shelves are pretty much empty.  There was not a Twinkie or a fruit pie or a Ding Dong to be found.  It's pretty much the same thing at stores all across metro Detroit.

We asked Holiday Market baker Paul Caddy if there were any Twinkies in his store.

"No there is not.  Not since this morning.  We don't have any of the Hostess stuff left, so it's been pretty bare on our shelves over there."

The Holiday Market has a lot of goodies in the bakery section to blow a person's calorie count for the day, but the Hostess section is empty.  Just a bag or two on Donettes left, and there is not another shipment to replenish the shelves.

The company's CEO is blaming the demise on a strike by its bakers.  18,500 employees will lose their jobs, including nearly 400 in Michigan.  Hostess outlet stores will close their doors for good in the coming days, bringing an end to an era.

"It's like an American staple in my opinion," Caddy said.  "People have been eating it for years and growing up their kids will eat it and so on and so forth."