Bakersfield Coffee Shops Become Luke’s Diner from ‘Gilmore Girls’
By Bailey Vega
October 5 is already a special day for fans of the well-beloved and highly popular television series Gilmore Girls, but what Netflix did with coffee shops around the nation in honor of the show’s 16th anniversary made the day even more exciting and memorable.
One of the hallmarks of the main characters Lorelei and Rory Gilmore is, of course, their complete addiction to coffee—a need for caffeine that is satisfied by Luke’s Diner, the two’s favorite spot to eat in the quirky fictional town of Stars Hollow. Last Wednesday 250 coffee shops around the nation, including Pappy’s Coffee Shop and Caffeine Supreme in Bakersfield, offered fans the chance to start their day like just like a Gilmore when the cafes turned into versions of Luke’s Diner from 7 am-12pm. All of the cities and shops were specifically selected by Netflix in promotion of their upcoming four-part revival of the show titled Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Each 90-minute episode will air exclusively on Netflix starting Nov. 25.
TC student Courtney Cloud
Fellow Taft College student Courtney Cloud and I, both devoted fans of the show, headed to the event at Pappy’s Coffee Shop on Rosedale Highway and found that it was nothing short of magical. The café displayed a replica of the Luke’s Diner sign, had twinkly lights in the window just like the iconic storefront from the show, and turned their own menus into Luke’s Diner menus. The employees even dressed the way character Luke Danes appears in nearly every episode, wearing baseball caps and plaid flannel shirts. Pappy’s also passed out free cups of coffee that were wrapped in Luke’s Diner coffee sleeves and were printed with a brand new Lorelei Gilmore quote from one of the revival episodes.
“[I understand] that local coffee shops try to make the restaurant like a second home, and I feel like Luke’s Diner is a second home [to the characters],” said an employee named Sarah, whose family owns Pappy’s Coffee Shop. She said Pappy’s had given out over 400 cups of coffee by 10:00 am, far surpassing their expectations for how many people would be at the event. Netflix contacted the shop in advance and asked if they’d like to be one of only fifteen “pop-up diners” to partake in the event across California. “We wanted to give fans an experience to remember,” she said.
While many people waited in the huge line that had formed outside the shop proudly donned Gilmore Girls merchandise t-shirts or cleverly dressed like characters from the show, one mother and daughter duo in attendance were truly like a “real-life Lorelei and Rory” as their very lives bear a striking resemblance to those of the Gilmore girls themselves. Emily, who is a mother in her thirties just like Lorelei Gilmore, brought her daughter Chloe, who is sixteen and the exact age Lorelei’s daughter Rory is in the first season of the series. “When the show first came out, I was a new mom, so I never had time to watch it, but I had always heard things about it,” Emily said. Chloe introduced her mom to watching Gilmore Girls, and now the two enjoy the episodes together, sharing a deep connection to its premise and a charming relation to the endearing mother-daughter dynamic in the show.
Daughter and mother Chloe (left) and Emily (right).
Fans were definitely not disappointed by the highly anticipated occasion. “I was really pleasantly surprised to see how many people came out,” said aforementioned Taft College student Courtney Cloud. “It was cool to see all the variety of Gilmore Girls fans there are, and it was a really great way to kick off the revival of the show and to celebrate the 16th anniversary too.”
Even though the event was in Bakersfield, where the hot summer weather still seems to be doing its best to linger on throughout October, things like the crisp chill of the early morning air, the enthusiasm and comradery amongst the various fans, and especially the act of drinking a cup of Luke’s Diner black coffee certainly made the whole experience feel like a dreamy autumn morning in Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
Happy Gilmoreversary!