Crumbs Bake Shop Has Closed

All of New York's iconic Crumbs Bake Shops have been shuttered. The chain announced Monday it will close all of its locations, much to the surprise of customers and employees. A spokeswoman for Crumbs said in a statement, "Regrettably Crumbs has been forced to cease operations and is immediately attending to the dislocation of its devoted employees while it evaluates its limited remaining options."

Of course, "remaining options" is a euphemism for the fact that the company will likely file for bankruptcy. A red flag shot up on July 1 when NASDAQ stopped trading Crumbs stock, since it wasn't meeting the minimum stockholders equity requirement of $2.5 million.

The first Crumbs location opened on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 2003, and the chain rapidly expanded to 70 locations in several cities by 2013. So, what happened? Business Insider said this may be a sign that the "cupcake bubble has officially burst." Perhaps, but Crumbs may have just been pushed out of a saturated market. Between Baked by Melissa, Sprinkles, and the iconic Magnolia, it's tough for a cupcake in this town. (Business Insider)