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Birmingham coffee shops transforming into “Luke’s Diner” for Gilmore Girls celebration

by

Erica Techo

Anyone who needs coffee in an IV or to fuel their inner Lorelai Gilmore will have the chance to visit Luke’s Diner this Wednesday.

As part of a Netflix promotion for the upcoming Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, which premieres on Nov. 25, coffee shops around the country will give away free coffee on Oct. 5. About 250 cups of free coffee will be given out at each location, and shops will exchange their typical cups for Luke’s-branded to-go cups and sleeves.

“We’ll be covering our signs with Luke’s Diner signs, and we’ll just be totally taken over by Luke’s Diner stuff,” said Virginia Phillips, a barista at Lucy’s Coffee and Tea on University Boulevard.

Each coffee cup comes with a quote on it as well as a code for rewards such as three months of Netflix membership, said Margaret Franks, assistant manager and lay missioner at The Abbey. Staff members will also wear Luke’s Diner aprons and baseball caps as well as flannel shirts, emblematic of the style Luke Danes’ character had on Gilmore Girls. As an additional layer of Gilmore, The Abbey will have Gilmore Girls-themed pastries and other food items for sale.

In addition to promoting the Netflix reboot, Oct. 5 is also a day to celebrate the start of Gilmore Girls — which premiered on Oct. 5, 2000 on the WB.

Coffee shops are also able to attract new customers through the event, Franks said. As lay missioner for The Abbey, Franks’ role includes bringing the community and spiritual community together, and she said she hopes this event helps bring new customers in to learn about The Abbey.

“I think it’s just a great opportunity to buy local and eat local and drink local,” Franks said. “… It’s just going to be a really fun thing sfor Birmingham to be able to show off via the help of Netflix.”

Phillips, who is a self-proclaimed Gilmore Girls fan, said the shop has already gotten a lot of calls from customers who are excited for the event. For employees, that excitement comes with a mix of nerves, Phillips said, as to how many people will attend and how everyone will fit in their relatively small space.

“I was most looking forward to getting the hats and aprons, and we’ve gotten all of those, and now I’m excited about all the customers that will come in,” Phillips said. “…I’m excited about a lot of Gilmore Girls fans [coming by] because I love the show so much, and it’s such a happy show that I expect we’ll get a lot of happy people.”

Participating coffee shops will give away 250 free cups of coffee, or until they run out of coffee. The event starts at 7 a.m.

The three Birmingham-area coffee shops participating include:

For a full list of participating coffee shops, visit townofstarshollow.org/lukes.

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