Former Hostess bakery will reopen in Lenexa and hire about 100

Two and a half years after the Hostess Brands bakery in Lenexa was shuttered in connection with a contentious bankruptcy, Flowers Foods announced the plant will reopen this summer, providing about 100 jobs.

The company, which acquired part of the former Hostess Brands assets in 2013, said it has spent more than $10 million to update the plant and will begin producing its Nature’s Own, Wonder and Home Pride breads there.

Interested applicants for the Lenexa jobs may apply at www.teamambassador.com.

Spokesmen for Flowers Foods had previously said the plant would reopen when and if market conditions indicated a need. Bread baked in Lenexa is expected to reach the Kansas, Missouri and eastern Oklahoma markets.

The plant previously employed nearly 200 workers. The jobs were lost when the former Hostess Brands suspended all operations after wage negotiations reached an impasse with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.

Flowers Foods, a publicly traded company based in Georgia, bought the former Hostess bread brands and 20 bakeries in proceedings supervised by bankruptcy court and has gradually reopened facilities. It has 46 bakeries, which operate as subsidiaries of the company.

The company has named Paul Frankum as president of Flowers Baking Co. of Lenexa.

Separately, a private investor partnership bought Hostess’ snack cake assets, including a plant in Emporia, Kan.. That facility has had several upgrades and expansions, turning out Twinkies and other Hostess Brands snacks. That company held a ceremony Wednesday in Emporia to mark the bakery’s latest expansion.

The Lenexa bakery, at 8960 Marshall Drive, dates to 2002, when it replaced a former Interstate Bakeries Corp. plant.

Frankum said in a news release that the Lenexa Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Department of Commerce and Kansas City Power & Light had helped Flowers Foods in reopening the bakery.

This story was originally published April 10, 2015 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Former Hostess bakery will reopen in Lenexa and hire about 100."