Gilmore Girls-mania swept across the country, including Austin, this morning when Netflix brought the television show’s iconic Luke’s Diner to local coffee shops, brewing up free joe and service with a grumpy smile. Eater was on the ground at three of the four cafes (Vintage Heart Coffee, and both Caffe Medicis at the Austonian and the walk-up window on Congress) to scope out the scenes.
Netflix partnered with local shops for the coffee pop-up, sending each coffee cups with a Snapchat code (that Eater couldn’t seem to make work) and caffeine-related Gilmore Girl-isms ("You like coffee?" "Only with my oxygen"). A few lucky ones even received cardboard cut-outs of diner proprietor Luke Danes with his updated restaurant rules (no texting, no man buns).
As expected, there were massive lines at every stop. At Vintage Heart Coffee, the line wound around the building, into the parking lot, and spilled into the back alley. Many people were dressed like Luke, donning flannel shirts and backwards blue baseball caps.
When doors opened at Vintage, The Bangles’ "Walk Like an Egyptian" appropriately played over the speakers. Each shop offered 250 free coffees, with an additional 250 for purchase. As of now, both Vintage and Caffe Medici have run out of free coffee, but still have cups and sleeves.
Because of the humidity, the "diners" had problems keeping the Luke’s Diner signs up. It even crashed at the Caffe Medici counter window at one point.
The promotional pop-up, which is still technically running until noon or when supplies run out, is in anticipation of Netflix’s revival of the show with the four episode series, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, as well as the 16th anniversary of the pilot episode.
