Sprinkles Cupcakes, which started in Beverly Hills 20 years ago and expanded across Southern California, including La Jolla, and into other states, abruptly closed Wednesday with little explanation.
News of the closure, in fact, was revealed not by the current owner of the chain, but by its original founder, Candace Nelson, who sold the business to a private equity firm in 2012.
Nelson broke the news on social media, posting a video in which she said she had learned “a few days ago” that the company would be halting operations at the end of the day Wednesday.
“Just to say that out loud is completely surreal,” Nelson said. “Even though I sold the company over a decade ago, I still have such a personal connection to it, and this isn’t how I thought the story would go. I thought Sprinkles would keep growing and be around forever. I thought it was a going to be my legacy. It’s hard to describe how I’m feeling right now. But one thing is for sure, I’m incredibly grateful for all of the joy our cupcakes brought to millions of people over the years.”
Nelson began the company with a single location in Beverly Hills in 2005. It then quickly expanded around the state and spread to locations including Florida, Nevada, Texas and Washington D.C. The company sold its gourmet cupcakes from storefronts and ATM-like vending machines. Sprinkles operated vending machines in several San Diego County locations such as Westfield UTC, Westfield Plaza Bonita and Little Italy.
Nelson sold the chain to the KarpReilly LLC equity firm in 2012.
City News Service contributed to this article.
