The final supply of Twinkies arrived Tuesday in Chicago. That's it, no more cream filling.
Last month, Twinkies flew off the shelves after Hostess Brands Inc. announced it would close after a labor dispute with workers. The company ran 36 bakeries nationwide, including one in Schiller Park.
Now that the company has been out of business for a while, Hostess factories across the country are closing their doors and sending out the last shipments of products.
"This is a one-time, one-shot basis," said Jewel-Osco spokeswoman Karen May about the 20,000 boxes of Twinkies and less than 5,000 boxes of Ding-Dongs and Zingers available Tuesday.
Tom O'Connor took that to heart. The Chicagoan arrived at a store before 6 a.m. to purchase 25 boxes. "They are going to be Christmas gifts," O'Conner said. "I wanted to be the first one here to pick them up," he added.
Jewel-Osco was contacted by its Hostess representative with an offer to buy the final supply of Hostess products, and May said they accepted immediately.
"We know they are very popular in Chicago, so of course we said yes," May said.
Deliveries began arriving at the 179 stores early Tuesday morning, according to May. There is no limit on the amount of Hostess products shoppers can purchase and there are no sales.
May cautions each store will only receive one shipment, which could arrive early in the morning or late in the afternoon. But once a store is out, that will be the end of Hostess Brand products made in a Hostess factory.
The final shipment heading to Chicago originated at a factory in Columbus, Ga.
Those who scoff at the value of a Twinkie may want to take a look on eBay, where boxes of the sweet treat are going from anywhere from $10 to $20 million.
May said only 14 of their JEWEL-OSCO stores will NOT receive shipments. Those stores are as follows:
• 655 Main St. NW, Bourbonnais, IL
• 446 S. Washington Ave., Kankakee, IL
• 901 S. Cottage Ave., Normal, IL
• 2203 E. Oakland Ave., Bloomington, IL
• 2103 N. Veterans Parkway, Bloomington, IL
• 1276 N. Main St., Crown Point, IN
• 716 Ridge Road, Munster, IN
• 805 Joliet St., Dyer, IN
• 747 Indian Boundary Road, Chesterton, IN
• 2010 First Street A, Moline, IL
• 107 Avenue of the Cities, East Moline, IL
• 1312 John Deere Expressway, Silvis, IL
• 1320 Sycamore Road, DeKalb, IL
• 220 W. Peace Road, Sycamore, IL
