Sprinkles Cupcakes Closes All 21 U.S. Stores

Sprinkles Cupcakes, the pioneering gourmet bakery chain that sparked a nationwide cupcake craze, announced on December 31 that it would close all 21 stores and 25 cupcake-dispensing ATMs across the United States, ending nearly two decades of operations.

Founder Candace Nelson, who launched the first location in Beverly Hills, California, in 2005, shared the news in an Instagram video, describing the development as surreal. "A few days ago I found out that Sprinkles Cupcakes, the company I started in 2005 and then sold to private equity in 2012, will be closing its bakery doors today," Nelson said. She emphasized that she has had no ownership or operational role in the company since the sale to private equity firm KarpReilly. The closure affects locations in states including California, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and Washington, D.C., with specific sites in Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Dallas, Scottsdale, La Jolla, Austin, Tampa, and Washington, D.C., among others. Three commissary facilities in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Dallas will also shut down. A planned opening in Burlingame, California, announced just weeks earlier, is now off the table, while existing Bay...