Hostess shutdown means job loss in RI

WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) -- The maker of some of America's most beloved treats announced it was closing up shop on Friday, and repercussions will be felt in the Rhode Island job market.

Hostess will be shutting down its factories and retail stores, some of which are right here in the Ocean State, where the unemployment rate remains staggeringly high and 2,500 jobs we lost just last month.

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The impact will reach one long-time bakery and thrift store in Warwick, whose 50 employees will now lose their jobs.

Many consumers will also feel the effects of the shutdown, since many rely on the discounted prices to feed their families.

"The prices are just getting so astronomical, that this was, for a lot of people like myself, a saving grace," said Gale Riddensdale of Warwick.

For others, it's the nostalgia and memories that will be lost.

"The kids will probably be eating a little bit healthier maybe, but there's a certain level of fun that's always involved with having a Twinkie or a cupcake," said David Ferreira. "When you're a kid, that's kind of like a treat."

Terrance Nadeau of Warwick tells us he spent his career behind the wheel of a Hostess truck.

"I was in the Blizzard of '78 in a bread truck, and I got stuck behind the Cranston Street Armory," he said.

We're told the Warwick thrift store and bakery will stay open long enough to sell off all of the products that are already on the shelves, but that won't be long since people are stocking up on what will soon be a piece of the past.