This text initially appeared on Enterprise Insider.
When Jason and Mia Bauer bought their iconic Crumbs Bake Store in 2011, they thought they had been leaving it in good fingers.
However two years later, the cupcake empire began to crumble, and finally, Crumbs introduced in July 2014 that it was closing all its shops and submitting for Chapter 11 chapter.
It was a pointy reversal for the New York-based cupcake store that began in 2003 with a single retailer in Manhattan’s Higher West Aspect however went on to spawn a Y2K fad that unfold across the globe.
The chain supplied over 75 flavors of cupcakes with distinctive toppings — akin to a Ladies Scouts Skinny Mints choice.
Crumbs was finally acquired by a holdings firm for $66 million by way of money and inventory. The corporate went public in June 2011.
However Crumbs — which spawned 70 shops in 2013 — was too aggressive with its growth plans. The breakneck velocity of progress and steep competitors from different desserts in the end toppled the empire.
A Crumbs Cupcake store earlier than the chain went beneath. Gus Lubin / Enterprise Insider
“We watched from the sidelines because the enterprise suffered,” Jason advised Insider.
Whereas the couple was upset the brand new workforce was unable to take Crumbs to a better degree, “I do not suppose there’s ever been a second of remorse,” Mia advised Insider.
“It was nonetheless very a lot our child. We gave start to this enterprise. We grew it. We had been very connected to it, and to see it go away in spite of everything of our arduous work wasn’t enjoyable,” Jason added.
The Bauers, who described themselves as religious folks, additionally “imagine that issues occur for a cause, so we moved on,” stated Jason.
The Bauers declined to disclose how precisely a lot they acquired from the sale.
After Crumb’s collapse, Jason began an actual property brokerage that he operated for 3 years. He then went on to work a company job at WeWork the place he was the worldwide head of area providers. Whereas he did that, Mia raised the youngsters.
Jason stated he loved his WeWork stint, however their cupcake enterprise was all the time behind the couple’s minds.
The Bauers revived the Crumbs model by probability, and it value all of $350
Crumbs got here again to the fore of Jason’s thoughts once more round 2019, when WeWork began imploding amid intense scrutiny of its funds and management after the work-sharing area filed for an IPO in August.
However it was solely throughout a random search on the US Patent and Trademark Workplace in 2021 that he discovered that Crumbs’ IP had been deserted. He then utilized to take over the “Unique Crumbs Bakeshop” model in February 2021 for $350, in accordance with a submitting from the US Patent and Trademark Workplace.
They had been fortunate this time. Jason stated they tried to purchase the Crumbs model from Fischer Enterprises earlier when the funding agency held the model’s mental property — however they had been unsuccessful.
Insider was unable to independently confirm the earlier buy provide.
Jason stated he nonetheless loved his job at WeWork on the time, so he did not pursue the difficulty or plan any fundraisers to purchase the model again. “I additionally felt like, you already know, it was costly proper for simply an IP,” he added.
However as destiny would have it, the Bauers managed to amass the model a number of years down the highway.
“The chance got here again to us, it was meant to be,” he stated. Jason finally left WeWork in 2021.
Now, he’s operating Crumbs with Mia once more.
Apart from cupcakes, Crumbs has expanded its vary to incorporate cookies.
The enterprise is now funded by the Bauers, in addition to a spherical of funding from family and friends. It has additionally simply closed one spherical of seed funding, stated Jason. He declined to elaborate extra on the fundraising.
Regardless of their earlier expertise, Bauers aren’t writing off promoting their enterprise once more.
“Whether or not we promote it, whether or not we take it public, whether or not we proceed to construct it, we’re in it to construct the model,” stated Jason of revived model the couple describe as being in its “infancy.”
“It might actually go in one million completely different instructions,” Mia added.