Was Dumb Starbucks Actually Real?

Regardless of which part of the world we live in, when we wake up in the morning, most of us want only one thing: coffee. But who knows, maybe we're not actually doing the right thing. The University of Bath conducted a study and found out that we should have a cup of coffee after breakfast, not minutes after waking up because it can negatively affect "our metabolic and blood sugar control."

In the U.S., drinking coffee is very popular, so much so that each American usually drinks two cups of coffee daily. Top brands include Folgers and Starbucks (via Statista), with the total assets of the latter amounting to about $28 billion in 2021 (per Statista). If you're a fan of Starbucks, it can be tricky to order a coffee if you don't already know which particular types of coffee you're drinking.

Drive Research reveals that 41% of Americans prefer black coffee, while at a coffee shop, most people opt for "shot-flavored lattes." While those purists may view the flavored, complex drinks as dumb, it appears that was taken to heart at one business. "Dumb Starbucks" was opened in Los Feliz, California on February 2014. But the word "dumb" that precedes "Starbucks" made some people wonder if the storefront was actually real in the first place.

Let's break it to you immediately: yes, Dumb Starbucks was actually real. The parody store was opened by Nathan Fielder, the comedy genius behind Comedy Central's now-gone-but-not-forgotten docu-reality show "Nathan For You," in which Fielder gives his advice to struggling businesses. 

Dumb Starbucks was opened as a part of Season 2, Episode 10 of the show. If it all smells like copyright infringement to you, you may be right. Starbucks sent an email to USA Today saying that Dumb Starbucks is not affiliated with their company and that they "appreciate the humor." Still, the store cannot use the name Starbucks, "which is a protected trademark." 

While Dumb Starbucks was open, there were long lines of people waiting to get in, and you could order everything that you could usually order at Starbucks, but in this case, everything was prefixed with the word "dumb," such as dumb espresso and dumb brewed coffee. In the end, The Guardian reports, Fielder resolved the issue by revealing he was behind the stunt, which he categorized as parody art in order to avoid getting sued. 

And even though it was real, Dumb Starbucks was shut down by the Los Angeles County Health Department because it operated without a health permit (per The Los Angeles Times).