On the morning of October 5th, in coffee shops across America, a well-beloved television series came to life.  In celebration of the upcoming “Gilmore Girls” revival, Netflix organized a series of pop-up Luke’s Diners (an iconic diner in the series) in coffee shops across all fifty states.

The pop-up diners served free coffee from 7a.m to 12p.m. for one day only.  In St. Louis, three coffee shops hopped onto the bandwagon to celebrate the show: Coffee Cartel in Central West End, and COMA Coffee in Brentwood, and Shameless Grounds in Benton Park.

At Coffee Cartel, people of all ages and genders lined up at 7a.m. to get free coffee and be part of the “Gilmore Girls” aesthetic.

Anna Myers, sophomore at Rosati-Kain high school, waited in line at the coffee shop before school started.  She said she found out about the event from her hairdresser, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be at an event commemorating her favorite show.  

“I think [the show] is really funny,” she said.  “I want to be Rory.”

But high schoolers didn’t make up the entirety of the crowd at Coffee Cartel.  Lindsey Kirk, who works for an attorney in Clayton, decided to come to the event since she has loved “Gilmore Girls” for years.

“It’s a decent show compared to a lot of the ones they come out with today,” she said. “I think there’s something in it for just about everybody.”

At the other coffee shop supporting the event, COMA Coffee, MHS students could be found waiting in long lines to get their free drink.  Hannah Trotta, junior, arrived at COMA Coffee before 7a.m. to wait in line for the coffee.  She found out about the event online, but was surprised by the large number of “Gilmore Girls” fans who woke up so early to attend.

“It was bigger than I expected,” Trotta said.  “It was a really long line.  We got there before 7a.m. and there was already a line.”

Despite the long line, Trotta said that once she entered the coffee shop, the wait was worth it.  She said the shop was decorated like the iconic Luke’s Diner from “Gilmore Girls”.  The coffee sleeves had the “Luke’s” logo on them, and employees were dressed like the character of Luke, with flannel shirts and backwards facing baseball caps.  The setting perfectly encapsulated the beloved series.
“It’s just a feel good show,” Trotta said.