Dumb Starbucks Headed to Brooklyn?

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Brooklyn, are you ready to get dumber?

This past weekend, a very unusual coffee shop opened in Los Angeles. Called “Dumb Starbucks,” it’s a parody of the famous chain that looks exactly like a regular Starbucks – except everything is labeled “dumb.” Customers can order “Dumb” coffee drinks including a Dumb Iced Caramel Macchiato or a Dumb Vanilla Blonde Roast, and all drinks come in sizes of Dumb Tall, Dumb Grande, or Dumb Venti.

The store became a minor social media phenomenon over the weekend after it opened late Friday. It gained additional attention when some famous LA’ers such as Rainn Wilson and Dan Harmon tweeted about it.

Today, the brains behind this Dumb operation was revealed: comedian Nathan Fielder, who stars in Comedy Central docu-reality series NATHAN FOR YOU. Fielder addressed reporters at the Los Feliz store in a Monday afternoon press conference, during which he revealed himself as Dumb Starbucks’ mastermind and claimed plans to open a Brooklyn location in the coming weeks.

“I’m proud to announce we’ll be opening our second Starbucks in Brooklyn, New York soon,” Fielder announced. “This really caught on so I’m going to ride it out.”

It’s unclear whether a Brooklyn location will actually come to fruition, given the satirical nature of the whole operation as well as its iffy legality. Soon after Monday’s press conference, the LA County Health Department shut down the Los Feliz shop for operating without a permit. Up until then, Dumb Starbucks had been giving out free coffee and pastries to everyone who came.

A Frequently Asked Questions page posted inside the store claimed Dumb Starbucks is protected by “parody law.” The notice claims: “By adding the word ‘dumb,’ we are technically ‘making fun’ of Starbucks, which allows us to use their trademarks under a law known as ‘fair use.’” According to the sign, fair use is “the same law that allows Weird Al Yankovich to use the music from Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’ in his parody song ‘Eat it.’”

Starbucks issued a statement before Monday’s presser disagreeing. “We are evaluating next steps and while we appreciate the humor, they cannot use our name, which is a protected trademark,” said company spokeswoman Lauren Harper.

No matter what happens next, expect to see Dumb Starbucks appear on Fielder’s show at some point. For the uninitiated, NATHAN FOR YOU shows Fielder traveling to small businesses and offering them off-the-wall suggestions for finding success. In one episode, he suggests a frozen yogurt store offer a “poo” flavor.

Do you think a Dumb Starbucks will actually open in Brooklyn? And if it does, would you go? Let us know in the comments! 

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