‘Dumb Starbucks’, The Internet’s Favourite Parody Coffee Shop (Of The Week), Has Been Ordered To Close
Nathan Fielder’s "plan to get rich” comes to a halt.
Well, the inevitable has happened. The phenomenally popular parody coffee shop, ‘Dumb Starbucks’ — which became a viral sensation after opening in a non-descript Los Angeles shopping mall over the weekend — has been forced to shut up shop after just three successful days of trading (which means the world will sadly be without ‘dumb espressos’ for the time being).
The coffee shop — the brainchild of Nathan Fielder, host of Comedy Central show, Nathan For You — launched on February 7 with a full range of Starbucks (version 1.0) coffees and cold drinks, served with an added twist: a hint of “dumb”. Alongside things like ‘Dumb Frappucinos’, customers were able to purchase ‘Dumb Norah Jones Duets’ for some easy listening on their ride home. “This is a real business I plan to get rich from,” said Fielder, about his business venture.
In the space of three days, the official Twitter account of Dumb Starbucks built to 14k followers as people speculated on whether or not it was an official publicity stunt.
Advertising ploy or pop art piece? Either way, there’s a big dumb crowd. #dumbstarbucks #smartbanksy? pic.twitter.com/oiF1YeXwiX
— Andrew Rutledge (@jandrewrutledge) February 9, 2014
Girl just said it took 3 hrs of waiting in line to get into #DumbStarbucks. Line stretched around the corner. @NBCLA pic.twitter.com/MuTmuygxWJ
— Kenny Holmes (@KHOLMESlive) February 10, 2014
A spokeswoman for Starbucks responded to the stunt, saying, “While we appreciate the humour, they cannot use [our] name, which is a protected trademark.” Having done his research, Fielder had a different take on his business: “By adding the word ‘dumb’, we are legally allowed to use the coveted Starbucks name and logo because we’ve fulfilled the minimum requirements to be considered a parody under US law.”
But when Fielder came forward to reveal himself as the President and Founder of Dumb Starbucks at a press conference held yesterday, authorities were waiting to shut down his business anyway — not because of his copy/paste job on Starbucks, but because he failed to obtain a valid health permit.
Fielder plans to open another Dumb Starbucks outlet in Brooklyn, New York within the next two weeks. Let’s hope he remembers a ‘dumb health permit’ this time.