Gilmore Girls fans flocked to Luke’s Diner – and it was glorious madness
Where you lead, they will follow
On Wednesday morning, Gilmore Girls fans in Greater Los Angeles swarmed the intersection of Ventura Blvd. and Laurelgrove Ave., creating a line that stretched out nearly a mile – practically the length of all of Stars Hollow.
What did they want?
Coffee! Coffee! Coffee!
Yummers
But not just any old joe – Luke’s special brew, served by the real Luke’s Diner employee Caesar (Aris Alvarado) and complete with the aesthetics of a “No cell phone” sign, plaid clad, baseball cap wearing employees, and a life-size cutout of Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) himself.
Yep. Used my phone like a rebel
In honor of 16 years of Gilmore Girls, Netflix transformed no less than 207 coffee shops in every state, Washington D.C., and Canada into bona fide Luke’s Diners for a day.
Luke! Is that you?
Being a crazy Gilmore Girls fan and caffeine aficionado myself, I just had to get my hands on my very own Luke’s beverage.
Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) would almost certainly approve of my morning
After finishing up some homework Rory-style and shouting at my mom to get ready faster, she and I kissed our own little Paul Anka goodbye and left for the diner.
My little Paul Anka
A few loops of Carole King’s “Where You Lead” later, we found ourselves in a sea of Gilmore Girls fanatics at the Comoncy in Studio City, Calif. (one of the chosen locations for a makeshift Luke’s).
There were mother/daughter pairs galore, and those who couldn’t be together literally were in spirit.
Friends who Gilmore Girls together stay together.
“My mom and I used to watch the show together,” said fan Ashley Snively, who admitted she had “a Gilmore Girls obsession.”
Her friend Liz Olenski said she also watched the show with her mom, and when asked who their favorite character was, both replied in Gilmore Girl-style unison: Lorelei.
“And just everyone,” Olenski added.
Hey Caesar!
Daughter Erica Zaimes and mother Nancy Casolaro reminisced while chowing down at one of the nearly impossible to snag tables.
“I grew up watching the show,” said Zaimes.
“The two of us would watch the show together with my sister.”
“November [when the four-part Gilmore Girls special comes out] is going to be great,” Casolaro added. “We decided we’d binge watch. I’m excited to see the whole thing again all at once.”
Very cute. Much adorable.
There were also plenty of Luke cosplayers on the scene.
“I love to dress the part,” said Luke Danes (aka Angeleno Meredith Peebles).
As for why she likes the show?
“It’s funny. It’s witty. I love the sarcastic humor.”
Nailed the face
We even had our very own troubadour.
“I was in line this morning and was like where’s my favorite troubadour?” said singer songwriter Kate Connaghan. “So I grabbed my ukulele.”
“It’s such a great show,” she gushed. “I still feel connected to it.”
No trip to Luke’s is complete without some troubadour tunes
Even though everyone raved about the coffee, my mom and I were not intent on waiting in line for a few hours for just some joe. Still wanting to capture the moment, though, we borrowed other fans’ cups and snapped a quick photo next to the Luke’s sign.
In the end, we settled for Al’s Pancake World (Starbucks) and called it a morning.
PSL FTW!
Surely Lorelei and Rory would’ve done the same.
“Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” premieres on Netflix Friday, Nov. 25.