Boonville Hostess plant has a buyer

Mayor Julie Thacher of Boonville confirmed Friday the Hostess plant that closed in November is now part of the deal purchased by Flowers Foods.

The job losses that resulted from the closing were felt by all plant employees.

“Finding a job, especially around the holidays and during the winter, there’s not a lot of people hiring around that time,” Jared Friedrich, a former Hostess employee tells ABC 17 News.

Friedrich worked for two years at the Boonville Hoestess plant before it closed.

Like more than 70 other of those workers, he had to find a new job.

Friedrich says he is hopeful the plant will re-open under Flowers Foods and bring new jobs.

“I think it’s great news. I know a lot of people are still out of work from the place,” Friedrich says.

He’s not the only one happy to hear this news. Other local businesses believe the re-opening of the plant would create more revenue elsewhere in the city.

“The more people that have jobs, the more people can spend money. You can’t spend money that you don’t make,” says Roderic Thomas, an employee at his family’s business.

Thomas and his family moved Carrie Lyn’s Ice Cream Parlor to Boonville from the west coast four years ago and they tell ABC 17 News they like the idea of more people coming in during lunch time.

“The more people with jobs, the more people can buy sandwiches,” Thomas tells ABC 17 News.

For Don Wilson, who works at a local staffing agency, the possibility of job creation is welcome news.

“We have literally hundreds of people a week coming in here looking for work and I think that would be excellent to have a new opportunity here in town,” Wilson tells ABC 17 News.

While there is still no word on what Flowers Foods will decide for the future of the plant, most locals are in agreement that this purchase can only mean good news for Boonville.

“It’s going to be a win-win situation for everyone,” Wilson says.