It's over. Well, maybe.
Ryan Ruggiero | CNBC.com
America woke up to the news that Hostess Brands would shut down. (Read More: Say It Ain't So! Twinkies Maker to Liquidate, Lay Off 18,500.)
We wasted no time stocking up.
At a Kroger -owned Ralphs in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Steve Fusco was in the snack aisle shortly after doors opened. He was buying Hostess cupcakes. "My girlfriend loves them." He walked away with the last two boxes. "I'm going to Vons next."
At a Vons in Burbank, a cashier said, "There's been a run on Twinkies since 5 a.m."
Divya Khanna was being shown where the few remaining boxes could be found. "I don't know what's going on, but my husband called in a panic and told me to buy Twinkies." (Read More: No More Twinkies? It. Can't. Happen. In. America.)
America's capitalist spirit is testing what price the market will bear for Twinkies and other Hostess goodies on sites like eBay and Craigslist—$10,000 for Twinkies? That's what one seller is asking. "One of the last boxes for the Zombie Apocalypse!"
The seller on Craigslist wants $1,000 for two Twinkies, "I'll include a pack of Ding Dongs for FREE and FREE shipping END OF AN ERA!!!"
Twitter is atwitter with the news.
"URGENT WILL TRADE ENTIRE NUCLEAR ARSENAL FOR LAST EXISTING BOX OF TWINKIES CONTACT ME ON MYSPACE," tweeted @KimJongNumbuhOne. (Read More: Yes, You Can Make Twinkies at Home—Here's How.)
Maybe we're all overreacting.
Source: Jane Wells
According to the investment house Stephens, Hostess Brands has as much as 9 percent of the bread market and 20 percent of the cupcake and brownies market. That's too big a share to ignore, and the report suggests Flowers Foods could buy the Hostess brands and recipes and bake them in their own facilities.
"The iconic Twinkies, Hostess and Wonder Bread brands would fit well with Flowers' brand portfolio."
Ding Dong! That's brilliant!
And speaking of Ding Dongs, Chuck Spale got the last box on a shelf at Ralphs at 6:30 a.m. He's taking them to a work site, "Where the guys will gobble them up."
Minutes later, a woman came up the same aisle. "No Ding Dongs? I knew I should have bought them last night."
—By CNBC's Jane Wells
@janewells
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