The Twinkies, Zingers and Wonderbread flew off the shelves of the Wonder/Hostess Bakery Thrift shop in St. Charles over the weekend, as fans stocked up on the sweet treats in the wake of the labor dispute between Hostess Brands and its union.
By Monday morning, all that was left was a stack of 39 Hostess holiday fruit cakes, a few bags of old fashioned cream drops and several bottles of seafood cocktail sauce, all 50 percent off.
The store was scheduled to close at 4 p.m. on Monday, following an announcement on Friday from Hostess Brands that it intended to liquidate following a labor dispute.
According toa story in the Los Angelas Times, Hostess and its union agreed to undergo arbitration on Monday.
It's unclear how that may impact the Hostess outlets in the St. Louis area. Workers at the St. Charles location learned on Friday they would lose their jobs.
Naomi Potts, 69, came in to see what was left Monday morning. The shelves had been taken down in the store and what was left was piled on a small cart.
Potts said she was a regular customer at the shop and often bought bread and snack cakes.
"It's sad to see the employees go," she said. "I think it's a big drop for the neighborhood."
Three employees at the St. Charles store will lose their jobs.
Store clerk Mary Dawoud will start looking for a new job on Tuesday. She worked for the St. Charles Hostess shop for 7 years.
"I feel so bad," she said. "It's a sad day."
She said she was concerned because her family relied on the job for insurance. Her husband was laid of four weeks ago. Dawoud moved to the United States from Bethlehem.
"I came here because it's better than my country and look what is happening to us," she said.
