'Dumb Starbucks' Shut Down, Mastermind Revealed

Comedy Central star was brains behind parody
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 11, 2014 1:58 AM CST
Updated Feb 11, 2014 7:31 AM CST
Funnyman's 'Dumb Starbucks' Shut Down
The sign at the now-closed Dumb Starbucks coffee in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Looks like "Dumb Starbucks" has served its last Dumb Frappuccino. LA County health inspectors shut down the "parody coffee shop" yesterday, soon after comedian Nathan Fielder revealed himself as the brains of the operation, reports the Los Angeles Times. The Canadian funnyman hosts the Comedy Central show Nathan for You, in which he comes up with bizarre strategies to save struggling businesses.

Before the store was shut down for not having a permit, leaving a line of disappointed customers, Fielder—still in character and wearing a Dumb Starbucks apron—addressed the media, the Guardian reports. "I'm proud to announce we’ll be opening our second Starbucks in Brooklyn, New York, soon," he said. The real coffee chain is taking the parody in good humor, though its tolerance may not extend to another branch. "We are aware of the store," Starbucks said in a statement. "We are evaluating next steps, and while we appreciate the humor, they cannot use our name, which is a protected trademark." (More Starbucks stories.)

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