Wonder Bread Hostess store close in SoCal By ERIC GALVAN, Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 10:52 PM PDT
CUAUHTEMOC BELTRAN PHOTO
Veronica Rojas, 10, of El Centro, reacts after not finding goodies in the clearance baskets at the Wonder Bread/Hostess Bakery store in El Centro on Wednesday. Rojas said her favorite was Dunkin Sticks. The store will close its doors today.
The shelves inside the Wonder Bread Hostess store on Fourth Street in El Centro are empty, save the three or four loaves of bread and bags of buns.
Near the front of the store are shopping carts full of discounted crackers and packs of seasoning mix for 50 cents or $1.
Jo De Anda, manager of the Wonder Bread store, has worked at the store for 23 years but will close her doors Friday.
Interstate Bakeries Inc., the parent company of Wonder Bread and other brands, will be closing its bakeries, distribution centers and outlet stores throughout Southern California. The Kansas City, Mo.-based company filed bankruptcy in 2004 and has reportedly continued to lose money.
About 1,300 employees are expected to lose their jobs in Southern California, including De Anda and 12 others that work for the Wonder Bread Hostess store in El Centro.
De Anda said she was initially told in late August her store would be closing Oct. 27. That changed about two weeks ago.
“That’s when we were first told we were going to close,” she said. “Now I know after Saturday I won’t have a job.”
She said there will be at least three drivers who will continue to make deliveries for the Hostess brand, but she said even their futures are in question.
“But, it’s not just us that work here that are affected by this,” De Anda said. “We have small businesses that we deal with and some schools that we serve.
“It’s going to affect a lot of people,” she said.
El Centro resident Hank Gorham, a local farmer, said he’s been a customer of the Wonder Bread store for more than 30 years.
When the store has products — bread, Twinkies and other items — that have reached their shelf life, Gorham buys them to feed to his cattle and goats.
Now, he has to look for another vendor.
“It’s a food source I’ve been accustom to for 30-plus years,” he said. “Now, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
He said he’s started looking into other places, but has not solidified anything yet.
For De Anda, things will be a little more difficult. She said she was three years away from retirement and isn’t sure what her future holds.
For her, personally, she said she’s conflicted.
“I go back and forth,” she said. “One minute I’m angry then one minute I’m heart-broken.”
She stood behind the store counter Wednesday, almost satisfied that she did what she could to help the store. Whether it was giving out hot dogs to customers or having an employee dress up in a Twinkie cowboy costume to bring in new consumers, De Anda said she did what she could.
“I did my part, but I don’t feel like the higher-ups did their part,” she said. “It’s just unfortunate because this is going to affect a lot of people.
“I wish I knew where to send those customers who are coming in and don’t know where to go,” she said. “But I don’t. It’s going to be tough. But it didn’t have to be like this.”
" I know Jo De Anda and I am offended by the embezzeling accusation made by evereadyinsd. Jo is a very honest, descent and kind hearted person. She worked very hard to keep that store going for years now. I do not and cannot believe someone would use this horrible time in Jo's life to attack her this way. I have to believe that evereadyinsd either doesn't know or is jealous of Jo. Unlike everyadyinsd I have given my true name and I am proud to know such a wonderful person as Jo
De Anda. S. Buesch (Imperial) "
bonifacenation wrote on Sep 20, 2007 10:44 PM:
" Mark Garegos, Gerry Spence, and Robert Shapiro all said to Gilbert O'Tero: 'No more Twinkie Defense!' "
tusabes wrote on Sep 20, 2007 10:07 PM:
" All the faithful customers that go through their doors and the best you can do is interview one who feeds the food to his animals? "
110854090953 wrote on Sep 20, 2007 5:45 PM:
" evereadyinsd's libelous comments have been up here all day. Doesn't IV Press monitor this stuff for compliance to the code of conduct posted at the bottom of this page? I love the online commentary but this stuff should not be allowed to stay on and those that post such should be blocked from posting in the future. "
mardia wrote on Sep 20, 2007 12:31 PM:
" No more Ding Dongs?!? AHHHHHH! Just kidding :) "
evereadyinsd wrote on Sep 20, 2007 9:17 AM:
" I heard de anda was embezzeling from that store for more than 20 years!! she should not have to worry about retirement and be lucky she is not in jail!!! "
arrowhead wrote on Sep 20, 2007 8:36 AM:
" Dang, I was just thinking about going there to get some Twinkies. "
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sbuesch wrote on Sep 21, 2007 2:34 PM: