LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- It appears the joke might end up being on the people behind the recently-opened “Dumb Starbucks” coffee shop in Los Angeles.
The store, which was opened by comedian Nathan Fielder, has already been shut down by the Los Angeles County Health Department.
Fielder hosts the Comedy Central show Nathan For You. “I’m proud to announce we’ll be opening our second Starbucks in Brooklyn, New York soon," Fielder said during a press conference on Monday. "This really caught on so I’m going to ride it out.”
The establishment opened over the weekend and gave out free coffee until it ran out. The shop copies the menu at Starbucks, except the word “dumb” is placed in front of every item.
Health officials closed the store because it didn’t have the proper permits.
"Legally speaking, we're operating as an art gallery -- under parody law, it only covers art -- so the coffee you're buying is the art," Fielder said. "Because of that we do not have a health permit so we didn't have to pay those fees and we passed on the savings to the customers."
Starbucks said in a statement the company is "glad the mystery is over.”
[CNN]
