A coffee shop that suddenly appeared in Los Angeles this weekend seems to be a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Mimicking the nearly ubiquitous Starbucks chain, a store called Dumb Starbucks Coffee is open in the Los Feliz neighborhood and is calling itself "a work of parody art," The Wall Street Journal reported.
The real Starbucks has noticed the store but hasn't yet responded.
"We are aware of it and looking into it," a Starbucks spokesman told WSJ.
The store, which offered free coffee and pastries during its opening weekend, features such options as "Dumb Vanilla Blonde Roast," "Dumb Chai Tea Latte" and "Dumb Caramel Macchiato." Drinks are of course available in "Dumb Venti," "Dumb Grande," and "Dumb Tall."
Staffed by just two workers who were kept extremely busy by the line of people out the door, the restaurant had to close around 5:20 p.m. on Sunday after the coffee ran out, according to WSJ.
The busy staff didn't have much to offer in way of an explanation, so the people who came to check out the new spot were left to conjecture.
"It's a ballsy move on their part," Ilya Khramtsou, 24, told the Los Angeles Times. "It feels like they're sticking it to the company. Everybody drinks Starbucks coffee, like zombies."
As an added touch, the parody store also includes CD titles such as "Dumb Jazz Standards," "Dumb Norah Jones Duets" and "A Dumb Taste of Cuba" next to the register.
According to a FAQ sheet given to WSJ, the store is something of a performance art piece in an attempt to protect it from a lawsuit.
"Although we are a fully functioning coffee shop, for legal reasons Dumb Starbucks needs to be categorized as a work of parody art," the FAQ sheet said. "So, in the eyes of the law, our 'coffee shop' is actually an art gallery" and the 'coffee' you're buying is considered the art. But that's for our lawyers to worry about. All you need to do is enjoy our delicious coffee!"
The information sheet also noted that Dumb Starbucks isn't truly intended to slam the popular coffee chain.
"In fact, we love Starbucks and look up to them as role models," a FAQ answer said. "Unfortunately, the only way to use their intellectual property under fair use is if we are making fun of them."
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