After the shock announcement that Crumbl Cookies co-creators, Sawyer Hemsley and Jason McGowan, would be stepping down, one store closed their doors the very next week. The Chapel Hill Crumbl location closed the day after the announcement on Wednesday, May 13th, 2026. There have been rumors swirling that Crumbl will be closing underperforming stores in 2026 and 2027. Is this true?
First things first, Crumbl does not decide which stores close down. Each Crumbl location is a franchise and the determination of the fate of any location is of that of the franchisee. If a franchise partner wants to lose $25,000 a month in Tallahassee, Florida, they are more than welcome to do that. The underperforming locations will be shuttered by the franchise owner with the help of Crumbl Corporate.
Crumbl Corporate is very particular about “brand protection” so you will not see old, falling apart and dilapidated Crumbl locations as they are going to protect the brand and image. That said, the franchise partner has put up the money. Most franchise partners spent between $500,000 and $750,000 just on the construction and build out of a Crumbl location. This was the up front costs of opening the store and do not include currently monthly expenses.
Underperforming Crumbl stores or locations are those that sell under approximately 200 cookies/desserts a day, on average. This number has changed quite a bit over the last few years, but you can be rest assured that a Crumbl doing less than 200 cookies a day will greatly struggle to be profitable. The leases for the buildings tend to be around $7000-$10,000 a month and the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) continue to rise each and every month with the cost of food rising.
When you add it all up, many Crumbl locations simply cannot make money. The underperforming stores are dragging down the financials of the franchise partners. Look for many Crumbl locations to close in 2026 and 2027 as the overall brand has seen a huge decline in interest. Google search trends for Crumbl are awful.
While Crumbl is attempting to bring back the fear of missing out (FOMO) and is trying to hide the spoilers, it is going to take a minor miracle for underperforming Crumbl locations to eek out a monthly profit.