Buzzkill: Health Department Shuts Down the Awesome that is ‘Dumb Starbucks’
After Nathan Fielder, host of Comedy Central’s Nathan for You, revealed himself to be the man behind “Dumb Starbucks,” the Los Angeles County Health Department swiftly shut the faux shop down.
A sign hanging on the window of the Hillhurst Avenue location says that it was “closed for violations”; the department told the LA Times that the parody cafe was shut down for operating without a health permit. Sad news for those who were hoping to get a free Dumb Iced Vanilla Latte.
Previous to being unceremoniously put out of business, Fielder held a cheeky news conference in the parking lot outside the storefront, sporting a green apron with the mock logo. The comedian explained to reporters and curious patrons that capitalizing on Starbuck’s’ household name helped “Dumb Starbucks” take off. However, he warned the actual Starbucks that although he didn’t want to start any “David and Goliath” contentions, if the coffee behemoth pressured him, they’d “risk losing me as a customer.”
Well played, sir.