Crumbl’s Cookie Empire Hits a Rough Patch — and St. George Has Already Lost One Location

Crumbl went from a small Utah cookie shop to one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in America in just a few years. Now, the Utah-born company is dealing with declining sales, store closures and growing pressure on franchise owners.

Store Closures and Declining Sales: A Troubling Trend

Restaurant Business reports that at least 57 Crumbl locations have closed so far in 2026, while dozens of additional franchises have been listed for sale. Customer traffic also took a major hit this year, with August visits reportedly down 32% from a year earlier. That downturn has already been noticeable in St. George. The Crumbl location off Red Cliffs Drive has closed, leaving the Auto Mall Drive store as the remaining St. George location. Cedar City also still has a Crumbl store.

From Bakery to Empire: The Crumbl Journey

The company rose remarkably fast. Cousins Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley opened the first Crumbl in Logan in 2017. The brand exploded through social media, rotating weekly flavors, oversized cookies and its distinctive pink boxes. By 2019, Crumbl had 55 stores. That number grew to 327 in 2021, topped 1,000 locations by 2024 and reached 1,101 stores in 2025. The current store count is closer to 1,064, showing that closures are beginning to outpace some of the company’s expansion.

Where Did It All Go Wrong? Analyzing Average Sales

The bigger concern may be what is happening inside those stores. Average annual sales per store climbed to about $1.7 million in 2021 and peaked at roughly $1.84 million in 2022. Sales then dropped sharply to around $1.16 million in 2023, recovered somewhat to $1.35 million in 2024 and slipped again to about $1.14 million in 2025.

Expanding Beyond Cookies: Menu Experiments at Crumbl

Crumbl has tried to broaden its appeal with desserts beyond cookies and other menu experiments, but not every attempt has produced the traffic the company hoped for. CEO Jason McGowan has acknowledged the challenges facing franchisees and accepted responsibility for the company’s recent performance, saying the “buck stops” with him.

“We’re going to just focus on things that we feel could be home runs, and we’re going to put them in the stores through a testing program.”
-CEO Jason McGowan

The Path Forward: Crumbl's Future Focus

Crumbl is certainly not disappearing. It still operates more than 1,000 stores and remains one of the biggest names in specialty desserts. But the closure of the Red Cliffs Drive location offers a local example of what is happening nationwide.

After years of explosive growth, Crumbl appears to be entering a new phase — one focused less on opening stores everywhere and more on figuring out which locations can remain profitable.