Hostess Employees, Customers Saddened by Company's Closure
By: Jessica Dean, KARK 4 News
Updated: November 16, 2012
Friday's announcement that Hostess will shut down for good not only means no more Twinkies. It also means some entral Arkansans will be out of a job, and others will be without their favorite bakery.
For 16 years, Lue Kelley spent her days ringing up items like Twinkies and Wonder Bread at the Hostess Bakery on Geyer Springs Road in Little Rock. But before long, she'll cash out for the last time.
"The bakery is closing down," Kelley said, "All of us will lose our jobs. "
Kelley already draws retirement, but she worries about her co-workers.
"Some of them [are] not eligible to draw retirement and some retirement is going to cut," she said.
But it's not just employees who hate to see this bakery go. Some customers have shopped there for years.
"It's great savings and a lot of people come here and i think it will be missed by a lot of people," said Winnie Gillespie, a loyal Hostess customer.
As Kelley checks out some of her final customers, she notices a similar feeling around the store.
"Everybody's sad," she says, "Everybody is sad about what happened."
As a place with low prices that kept several people employed for years, it's no wonder.
Kelley tells kark the bakery will be open Saturday, but beyond that she was not sure. Another Hostess bakery in North Little Rock will close down as well.
For 16 years, Lue Kelley spent her days ringing up items like Twinkies and Wonder Bread at the Hostess Bakery on Geyer Springs Road in Little Rock. But before long, she'll cash out for the last time.
"The bakery is closing down," Kelley said, "All of us will lose our jobs. "
Kelley already draws retirement, but she worries about her co-workers.
"Some of them [are] not eligible to draw retirement and some retirement is going to cut," she said.
But it's not just employees who hate to see this bakery go. Some customers have shopped there for years.
"It's great savings and a lot of people come here and i think it will be missed by a lot of people," said Winnie Gillespie, a loyal Hostess customer.
As Kelley checks out some of her final customers, she notices a similar feeling around the store.
"Everybody's sad," she says, "Everybody is sad about what happened."
As a place with low prices that kept several people employed for years, it's no wonder.
Kelley tells kark the bakery will be open Saturday, but beyond that she was not sure. Another Hostess bakery in North Little Rock will close down as well.
