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This article was originally published on business insider.
When Jason and Mia Bauer sold the iconic Crumbs Bake Shop in 2011, they knew they were in good hands.
But two years later The cupcake empire began to crumbleAnd finally, Crumbs announced in July 2014: close all stores and apply Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
It was a sharp reversal for the New York-based cupcake shop, which started with a single location on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in 2003, but spawned a worldwide Y2K craze.
The chain offered over 75 cupcakes with unique toppings. Girls Scout thin mint options and more.
Crumbs was eventually acquired by a holding company. $66 million in cash and stock. The company went public in June 2011.
But the crumbs spawned 2013 70 stores — Expansion plans were too aggressive. Amazing growth rate and Fierce competition with other desserts Finally defeated the empire.
Crumbs cupcake shop before the chain collapsed. Gus Rubin / Business Insider
“We were on the sidelines as the business went into trouble,” Jason told an insider.
“I don’t think there was ever a moment of regret,” Mir told an insider, saying the couple were disappointed but the new team failed to take Crumbs to the next level.
“It was still our baby. We created and grew this business. We were so attached to this business and after all our hard work it disappeared It wasn’t fun to watch him go,” Jason added.
The Bauers, who describe themselves as spiritual people, said: “We believe things happen for a reason, so we moved on.”
The Bauers did not disclose how much they received from the sale.
After Crumb’s bankruptcy, Jason started a real estate brokerage business, which he ran for three years. He then took a corporate job at WeWork, where he was the Global Head of Space Services. While doing so, Mia raised her children.
Jason said he enjoyed working at WeWork, but the cupcake business was always on the back of the couple’s mind.
Bowers accidentally revived the Crumbs brand, all at a cost of $350.
Crumbs resurfaced in Jason’s mind because In 2019, WeWork began to fall apart Amid intense scrutiny of its finances and leadership after the work-sharing space filed for an IPO in August.
But it wasn’t until a random search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2021 that he discovered that Crumbs’ intellectual property had been abandoned. After that, he applied to take over the “”.Original Crumbs Bake Shop” One brand says it will go on sale in February 2021 for $350. Application from the US Patent and Trademark Office.
This time they were lucky.Jason said he tried to buy the Crumbs brand From Fisher Enterprise There was a time when an investment firm held the brand’s intellectual property before, but it ended in failure.
Insiders were unable to independently confirm the previous takeover offer.
Jason said he was still enjoying his work at WeWork at the time, so he didn’t pursue the issue or plan a fundraiser to buy back the brand. “Also, the IP alone felt expensive,” he added.
However, as fate would have it, Bowers managed to acquire the brand a few years later.
“The opportunity came back, it was inevitable,” he said. Jason will eventually retire from WeWork in 2021.
now he Run Crumbs with Mia again.
Beyond cupcakes, Crumbs is expanding its lineup to include cookies.
The project now receives funding from the Bauers, as well as friends and family. It also just closed one round of seed funding, Jason said. He did not disclose details of the funding.
Despite his experience, Mr. Bowers has no intention of writing off selling the business again.
“Whether we sell it, we go public, we keep building it, we’re working on building the brand,” Jason said of the revival of the brand, which the couple describes as being in the “early stages.” rice field.
“It could really go in a million different directions,” Mia added.