Harvard Square Store 24 Manager Syed S. Rahman said he has dealt with complaints from Hostess fans all week.

He said one customer even called his boss about the bread.

"The customer said I didn't know what I was doing, because there wasn't any bread in the store," Rahman said.

In addition, the strike has caused Store 24 to run out of its Store 24 label bread, which is produced by Nissen and is less expensive than other mainstream brands.

Pepperidge Farm and Entenmann, two of the affected brands' major competitors, have benefited from the strike.

Some local bakeries are also doing more business, such as La Ronga of Somerville, which is helping HUDS meet its bread demand.

While the strike has had an indisputable impact on IBC profits, the Boston Globe reported yesterday that some analysts have said brand loyalty may erode permanently as customers are forced to try other brands.

The scope of the bread and snack cake shortage has expanded to include New York City, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Cleveland, Turkewitz said.