Crumbs just shut down all of its stores

Crumbs Bake Shop, America's largest specialty cupcake chain, quietly shut down all of its stores Monday night.

Crumbs had 48 stores in 10 states and Washington, D.C. After going public on the Nasdaq exchange in 2011 and expanding too quickly, the company ran into major financial issues.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Crumbs employees had no knowledge of the closing before Monday. "Regrettably, Crumbs has been forced to cease operations and is immediately attending to the dislocation of its devoted employees while it evaluates its limited remaining options," the company said in a statement. Those options may include filing for bankruptcy.

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The Crumbs news is disappointing for gourmet cupcake fans, but it may also give a definitive answer that the cupcake craze is really, truly dead.