Crumbs Bake Shop Shuts Down and Closes All 50 Stores
Posted on July 9, 2014
Crumbs Bake Shop is shutting down. All of the company's stores closed on Monday. The cupcake bakery had stores in ten different states. The first store opened in Manhattan in March 2003. Crumbs went public in 2011.
Crumbs sold over 50 different types of cupcakes, including apple cobbler, brownie, carrot, devil's food, lemon, red velvet and vanilla coconut. There were also specialty cupcakes, such as Girl Scout Thin Mints cupcakes and Girl Scout Lemon Shortbread cupcakes through a partnership with the Girl Scouts. The crumbs.com website is still online, but it is not taking orders. A message says, "Currently no online orders." The site advises people to visit the closest store, but the stores are all closed.Time reports that some Crumbs cupcakes are now being sold on eBay for ridiculous prices of $250 and up. These cupcakes are not going to remain fresh for very long. Buying them on eBay is not a good idea.
Crumbs was delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange last week. The bakery chain issued a brief statement saying it is evaluating its "limited remaining options." This could include liquidation under a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
Some analysts see the failure of Crumbs as a sign the gourmet cupcake fad is ending. However, the closure of Crumbs could benefit competitors such as Sprinkles, Magnolia Bakery, and Georgetown cupcakes, providing they don't try and expand too quickly. Take a look: