October 05, 2016
If you're on the road, feeling lonely and so cold, nothing hits the spot like a cup of coffee from Luke's Diner. For a "Gilmore Girls" fan, anyway. But if you didn't make it down to a Luke's Diner pop-up in Philly this morning — there were two of them in Philly today, a promotion for the series' upcoming Netflix revival — here's what you missed:
I arrived at Hubbub Coffee (1717 Arch St.) around 9:20 a.m. The long line, mainly college-age women (plus a journalist with a flexible schedule) snaked around 3 Logan Square. I assume the "Gilmore Girls" fans with 9-to-5s grabbed their Luke's Diner coffees and left already.
With time to kill, in-line conversations turned to the one thing we all had in common. One group discussed which "Gilmore Girls" character they identified with most (but everyone avoided the hard questions: Team Jess, Team Dean or Team Logan?).
While everyone seemed to know right away if they were a Lorelai or a Rory, hardly anyone had gone as far as dressing up like the characters. I was hoping to spot someone rocking a white cotillion gown, a pink tie-dye T-shirt with cowboy boots or with their hair tied up in a bandana, but I only saw a few Luke-inspired flannels.
One woman did pull a Rory and bring a book to read while she waited, though.
It took around 45 minutes to get through the door, but the Luke's Diner sign just inside reinvigorated morale. That said, the general decor of the place didn't really resemble the Stars Hollow greasy spoon.
Employees were dressed in Luke's Diner aprons and backwards hats with the coffee cup logo, provided by Netflix. A huge cardboard cutout of Luke struck the right balance of friendliness and grumpiness. "NO texting while ordering, man buns, taking pictures of food, headphones," read the sign in his hand.
As promised, the paper coffee cups had special "Gilmore Girls" sleeves. The "surprise" underneath was a quote from the show. Was it worth waiting in line for? For fans of the show — sure, why not? Announce another pop-up and they'll be there, on the next train.
The line was broken up into three sections that snaked around 3 Logan Square.
A "Gilmore Girls" fan takes a cue from Rory and reads a book in line.
Welcome to Luke's.
He's not there in person, but Luke's still making sure everyone follows his diner's rules.
Employees at Hubbub got a new uniform for the Luke's Diner pop-up experience.
Employees at Hubbub are decked out in Luke's Diner gear.
The "Gilmore Girls" coffee sleeve.
The "surprise" underneath the coffee sleeve.
