The fast-growing bakery chain Crumbl Cookies has hit a rough patch that could change the number of places where Maryland residents can get the signature oversized cookies with rotating flavors.
The company's fortunes have changed dramatically since it became a social media sensation, drawing millions of followers and customers eager to try its latest limited-time flavors.
Crumbl has closed at least 57 stores in 2026. Customer traffic has fallen sharply and one franchise operator has filed for bankruptcy, according to industry reports. An effort to boost sales by adding dirty sodas — soft drinks mixed with flavored syrups, cream and other ingredients — has also fallen short of expectations.
The company has not published a complete state-by-state list of closures. However, closures confirmed by Fast Company include locations in 10 states, including California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Pennsylvania. An unofficial tracker also lists stores in Alabama and New Jersey.
That doesn't mean every location is struggling. The chain operates through independently owned franchises, and performance can vary substantially from one market to another.
Maryland has 18 Crumbl stores, including:
In May, the Crumbl Cookies location at The Shops in Seneca Meadows in Germantown abruptly closed. An employee told Patch that management told staffers to turn off sales after employees noticed a decline in orders.
No reason was given for the sudden change in operations at the bakery, which had served the community since September 2022 from 20650 Seneca Meadows Parkway.
A Kentucky couple's experience illustrates how quickly things have changed. In February 2024, Rick and Emily Diamond were celebrating the opening of their third Crumbl location in the Louisville area.
Their first two stores were thriving, ranking among the top 25 percent and 15 percent of Crumbl locations for sales, according to a Nation's Restaurant News profile published at the time.
Rick Diamond, a former accountant, had wanted to become his own boss after the pandemic. Emily became interested in Crumbl after visiting the company's original Utah store.
The couple liked the cookies, the company's attention to detail and its social media appeal. They were confident enough in the business to open a third store, next to a Kroger grocery store.
But the picture looks much different two years later.
Red Sheep St. Matthews LLC, the company behind the third location, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in federal court in Kentucky on Oct. 1, seeking to liquidate its assets.
The business reported more than $352,000 in liabilities, according to Inc. magazine.
The bankruptcy involves the St. Matthews franchise operation, not Crumbl's parent company. The couple's other two stores were not part of the filing.
Crumbl's difficulties extend beyond one franchise.
Sales in August 2026 were 70 percent lower than two years earlier, according to an internal company document cited by Restaurant Business.
Customer traffic across the chain's more than 1,000 locations was down 32 percent from a year earlier, according to data from location analytics company Placer.ai cited in an earlier Inc. report.
The downturn follows years of rapid expansion that transformed Crumbl from a single Utah bakery, founded in 2017, into a national franchise.
That growth has brought its own challenges. Restaurant franchise experts say expanding too quickly can leave operators competing for customers in markets that cannot support so many locations.
Crumbl's new drink lineup failed to boost sales as expected.
In 2025, CEO Jason McGowan projected that dirty sodas would increase sales by 20 percent and boost average annual store revenue from $1.1 million to $2 million.
The beverages were meant to drive visits outside of weekly cookie releases.
But the initiative failed to produce the anticipated sales increase, according to Inc.
McGowan has acknowledged the company's problems and accepted responsibility for its performance.
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