Update, Feb. 11, 8:57 a.m. ET: Dumb Starbucks was discovered to be part of the set for TV show Nathan For You on Comedy Central.
Curious coffee drinkers waited in line for hours Sunday to order a "dumb coffee."
A coffee shop called Dumb Starbucks opened in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles this weekend, serving up dumb iced coffees, dumb lattes and not-so-dumb viral marketing. The mysterious store ripped off the official Starbucks logo and menu, but claims to have no affiliation with the Seattle-based coffee giant.
[seealso slug="starbucks-mermaid-siren"]
Enjoy our full menu of coffees and cold drinks pic.twitter.com/wPacrEEH9k— Dumb Starbucks (@dumbstarbucks) February 8, 2014
Go buy some @dumbstarbucks before dumb lawyers get to it pic.twitter.com/67E2zq0myf— Mark McCune (@MarkMcCune) February 8, 2014
Speculation has pointed to guerrilla marketing, a Banksy-style art installation or a rich coffee guzzler who just really wants their own Starbucks. An FAQ page handed out by Dumb Starbucks explains that the group behind the shop categorizes it as a work of "parody art" for legal reasons.
Twitter users had their own theories and thoughts about the mysterious coffee shop.
dumb starbucks theory: they know they are gonna get c&d'd, will just change their name, but then will have mass publicity & patronage— Brendon Murphy (@xternal) February 9, 2014
Worried that the Dumb Starbucks in my neighborhood is gonna put independently owned parody coffee shops out of business.— Justin Shanes (@justinshanes) February 9, 2014
I was ready to hate Dumb Starbucks but they are giving away free Moron & Sons albums.— Matt Goldich (@MattGoldich) February 9, 2014
I hope they catch the criminals who opened up this Dumb Starbucks. Zero respect for intellectual property. Throw them in prison.— Jake Fogelnest (@jakefogelnest) February 9, 2014
Dumb Starbucks is Peets!— Jon Daly (@jondaly) February 9, 2014
Neither Starbucks nor Dumb Starbucks immediately responded to a request for comment.
UPDATE, Feb. 10, 10:35 a.m. ET: Starbucks Media Relations tells Mashable in a statement: "We are aware of the store -- it is not affiliated with Starbucks. We are evaluating next steps and while we appreciate the humor, they cannot use our name, which is a protected trademark."
BONUS: 7 Things You Didn't Know About Starbucks