Dumb Starbucks became am instant hit in Los Angeles, but its popularity caused the coffee shop to shutdown.
The Los Angeles health officials caught wind of Dumb Starbucks, which fronted as an "art" project instead of a coffee shop, and forced its doors to close for not having the proper permits, NBC Los Angeles reports.
However, it was also revealed the story owner Nathan Fielder is also the star of Comedy Central's show "Nathan For You".
"Many of you probably know me as a comedian, but this is no bit or joke - this is a real business I plan to get rich from," Fielder said in a video revealing his business plan for Dumb Starbucks.
Many have taken Fielder's Dumb Starbucks as a publicity stunt of Comedy Central, but the comedian insisted his business is legitimate during a press conference outside of the coffee shop.
Enjoy our full menu of coffees and cold drinks pic.twitter.com/wPacrEEH9k
— Dumb Starbucks (@dumbstarbucks) February 8, 2014
"[Dumb Starbucks] means something, or it must by now after all the clicks and hashtags, but we haven't got a clue what that is," Tess Lynch of Grantland reported.
"It trades in an invisible currency, but it still gets your adrenaline going in a palpable way. Popularity, even brief popularity, is so closely associated to being rich that at times it seems like a negligible difference."
If Fielder's mission was to create buzz for Comedy Central, it worked. Dumb Starbucks immediately began trending on Twitter, and the coffee shop had a line of customers waiting to taste the Dumb Brewed Coffee.
"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," the coffee parody chain stated in Frequently Asked Questions list (via NBC). "Although we are a fully functioning coffee shop, for legal reasons, Dumb Starbucks needs to be categorized as a work of parody art ... But that's for our lawyers to worry about. All you need to do is enjoy our delicious coffee!"
