End of a sweet era
Sprinkles Cupcakes closes all locations, including Fort Worth-area ATMs
Sprinkles has closed all of its locations.
A cupcake pioneer has shuttered all of its locations nationwide, including in Dallas-Fort Worth. Sprinkles Cupcakes closed all of its locations on December 31, according to multiple reports.
The company provided a brief statement about the closures to TV station KTLA: “After thoughtful consideration, we’ve made the very difficult decision to transition away from operating company-owned Sprinkles bakeries.”
Founder Candace Nelson shared her own thoughts about the news via a post on Instagram. After noting that she sold the business to private equity in 2012, Nelson stated she was disappointed by the decision.
“Even though I sold the company over a decade ago, I still have such a personal connection to it, and this isn’t how I thought the story would go. I thought Sprinkles would keep growing and be around forever,” she says in the clip.
The bakery had 20 locations in six states. In Dallas-Fort Worth, Sprinkles had a location at The Plaza at Preston Center in Dallas (4020 Villanova St.), and in Plano's Legacy West (7500 Windrose Ave.). While it had no brick-and-mortar stores in Fort Worth, there was a Sprinkles ATM at The Shops at Clearfork, as well as at DFW Airport, Southlake Town Square, the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, and at Galleria Dallas.
Sprinkles was widely credited for creating the cupcake craze of the late aughts and early 2010s. Founded by Nelson in 2005, the shop's treats elevated the form with high quality ingredients, a wide range of flavors, and the sort of eye-catching designs that would be now be described as Instagram-worthy — but Sprinkles predates the app’s creation.
It introduced a number of innovations, including a cupcake ATM to satisfy cravings 24-hours-a-day.
As for Nelson, she pivoted to Pizzana, an Italian-style pizzeria she co-founded with her husband Charles, actor Chris O’Donnell and his wife Caroline, and chef Daniele Uditi. The restaurant, which holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide for its original outpost in Los Angeles, has a Dallas location that opened in 2022 and a Houston store that opened in 2024.
