Sprinkles, the boutique bakery chain that popularized gourmet cupcakes and "cupcake ATMs," has abruptly closed all of its U.S. locations after more than 20 years in business, founder Candace Nelson has confirmed.
The pastry chef—who opened the first Sprinkles store in Beverly Hills in 2005 with her husband, Charles Nelson, and later sold it—announced the news in a Dec. 31 Instagram post, noting that she learned of the closures just a few days earlier.
Nelson, a former investment banker, pivoted to baking after losing her corporate job during the dot-com bubble bust.
"I sold Sprinkles in 2012 and have no ownership or operational involvement in the company," Nelson wrote on social media. "Still, it’s surreal to see this chapter come to a close — and it’s not how I imagined the story would unfold."
NTD reached out to the company for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time. Calls to various Sprinkles bakeries also went unanswered.
A slew of apparent former employees flooded the comment sections of the company's recent Instagram posts.
"Cupcakes are sweet. One-day layoff notices are not," another said. "Yikes, what a bold way to celebrate 20 years and ring in the new year."
Nelson expressed her support of those who were impacted by the shutdowns, writing that her "heart is with the Sprinkles employees."
"Even though I sold the company over a decade ago, I still have such a personal connection to it," she said. "This isn't how I thought the story would go. I thought Sprinkles would keep growing and be around forever. I thought it was going to be my legacy."
Nelson noted that it was difficult to put her emotions into words.
"But one thing is for sure," she added. "I am incredibly grateful for all of the joy our cupcakes brought to millions of people over the years."