Sprinkles Cupcakes, the brand that launched cupcake ATMs across the country, will close its doors on Dec. 31, co-founder Candace Nelson announced on Instagram.
The closure will include the two stores in North Texas, one located in Preston Center in Dallas and the other in Legacy West in Plano, as well as the Sprinkles ATMs that operated at DFW International Airport, where there were three vending machines, Gaylord Texan Resort, the Galleria, Southlake Town Square, and The Shops at Clearfork.
In Dallas, the closure of the stores came as a shock to their customers.
By early afternoon on Dec. 31, the shelves of Sprinkles Cupcakes were empty.
Sarah Blaskovich/Staff writer
Restaurant News
Sprinkles was sold out of cupcakes by midday on New Year’s Eve at the Dallas shop, in Preston Center. A line formed around the door for the remaining treats, an employee said.
By 3:30 p.m., the shop remained open, but all that was left were a few dozen cookies and some Pupcakes — Sprinkles’ treats for dogs.
The cupcake ATM was empty.
“We are currently sold out,” said part of the message on the cupcake ATM.
Employees were surprised by the sudden closure. On social media, some fans commented that they had received a one-day notice.
The shelves of the bakery, usually filled with cupcakes like red velvet, salty caramel and peanut butter chocolate chip, were empty.
The Cupcake ATM located in Preston Center, in Dallas, was empty by early afternoon on Dec. 31.
Sarah Blaskovich/Staff writer
Nelson and her husband Charles founded the cupcake business in 2005, and it soon became a successful concept with several locations nationwide.
In 2012, Nelson sold the company to private equity firm KarpReilly when it had 10 locations nationwide and one international location, in addition to beginning to develop cupcake ATM machines. She decided to sell it due to the challenge it posed for her and her husband to run a larger business while their family was growing, she explained in an Instagram video.
“I thought Sprinkles would keep growing and be around forever,” Nelson said on her social media about the closure. “I thought it was going to be my legacy.”
Nelson said operations will cease on Dec. 31, 2025.
Sprinkles Cupcakes had 22 brick-and-mortar stores and at least 25 ATM locations spread across the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and Washington, D.C.