Crumbs Bake Shop unexpectedly closed its remaining stores Monday, marking the end of an era for the trendy cupcake buying business.
The closures came after the New York-based cupcake shop shuttered several stores over the past few months, according to The New York Post. The company's failure to meet stockholders' $2.5 million minimum equity requirement also led to its removal from the NASDAQ stock market, Business Insider reported.
"Regrettably Crumbs has been forced to cease operations and is immediately attending to the dislocation of its employees while it evaluates its limited remaining options," stated company officials. Crumbs is currently considering filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy.
In a May filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the famous dessert company cautioned that it "may be forced to curtail or cease its activities," if it did not earn enough cash in the coming months, according to The Associated Press.
Some employees had trouble digesting the unfortunate news.
"It's a real curveball for us," stated a manager at a Crumbs location in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. "Normally, you get two weeks' notice when you're closing down - you don't get one-day notice."
Crumbs' shares fell to 27 cents in June, down from a $14 dividend the company first started with in 2011, the first year it was listed on NASDAQ.
"A few months into the operation we decided to convert the bakery case into all cupcakes," recalled Jason Bauer to BNet about the company's beginnings on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 2003. "Mia went on a rampage and we started to be known as the cupcake place."
The couple's original shop had 150 items - only a few of which included cupcakes according to inc.com.
Crumbs' massive cupcakes sold for up to $4.50.
