Crumbl's August Sales Fell 70% From Two Years Ago, CEO Admits Fault

Crumbl's August sales were 70% below their level two years earlier, according to an internal document obtained by Restaurant Business. CEO Jason McGowan is not deflecting blame. "The buck stops with me," he told franchisees last week. "It's my fault where we are today."

The numbers behind that admission are stark. Foot traffic at Crumbl's more than 1,000 locations fell 32% year over year, according to Placer.ai data. At least 57 stores have closed this year. The company recently laid off much of its franchise support staff.

How did a post-pandemic darling go stale?

Crumbl came out of the pandemic era as one of the hottest concepts in fast food. Its rotating cookie menu and social-media-driven growth made it a franchise magnet. A series of missteps has since cooled the business, Restaurant Business reports.

The most visible of those missteps was the dirty soda push. McGowan pitched the drinks to franchisees in 2025, predicting a 20% sales boost. The flagship product—a 32-ounce soda packing 186 grams of sugar—sparked online backlash instead of a sales surge.

McGowan now calls August's Soda Week promotion the worst week in company history.

Who is accountable?

McGowan has taken personal ownership of the decline. His statements to franchisees, reported by Restaurant Business, frame the downturn as a leadership failure rather than a market shift.

The accountability extends to the executive suite. McGowan and co-founder Sawyer Hemsley announced in May that they will step back from day-to-day roles at the company they built.

A leadership transition is already underway. McGowan says a new CEO is coming soon, along with a new CFO and a new head of marketing.

What comes next for the franchise network?

The near-term picture is one of contraction: fewer stores, thinner support staff, and a franchise base absorbing a 70% sales decline from peak. Store closures are running at a pace of at least 57 units in a single year.

The incoming executive team will inherit the task of reversing a two-year slide in both sales and foot traffic—without the founder-CEOs who built the brand. Whether new leadership can restore franchise economics before closures accelerate further will define Crumbl's next chapter.