Gilmore Girls Slope Surprise - Luke's Diner Takes Over Sir D's Lounge

Luke sets the rules of his diner. (Photo by Donny Levit / Park Slope Stoop)

So what were you doing at 6:50am on Union Street? Yes, we’re talking to you, Gilmore Girls-obsessed fans who just had to get a cup of coffee at Luke’s Diner.

The famous (and fictitious) diner of Stars Hollow, Connecticut came to life at Sir D’s Lounge (837 Union Street) this morning, one of about 200 cafes around the country to be a “Luke’s Diner Pop-Up” today.

From Anchorage to Atlanta, from Honolulu to Harrisburg, from Portland to … er … Portland, fans of the show could line up to get one of the 200 cups of coffee available at each pop-up.

And the morning wasn’t just about nostalgia for the series, which lasted seven years and ended in 2007. The event was sponsored by Netflix, who will be releasing four new 90-minute episodes on November 25 of this year, called Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.

By the way, that’s Black Friday, so get your holiday shopping in order right quick.

[L-R] Kaitlyn Meyer and Johanna Hunter enjoy the temporary Luke’s Diner pop-up. (Photo by Donny Levit / Park Slope Stoop)

So why does Gilmore Girls have such a cult following? Park Slope neighbor Kaitlyn Meyer has her theory. “The show is the perfect balance of someone being able to act as both a mother and best friend,” she told us.

Meyer is referring to the characters Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and her daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel).

“But also, it’s the dialogue. The wittiness and banter is amazing,” she added.

[L-R] Chelsea and Katrina serve up Luke’s Diner coffee at Sir D’s. (Photo by Donny Levit / Park Slope Stoop)

“People were lined up at 6:50am,” said Katrina, who works at Sir D’s. She’s also the daughter of Chris Dixon, co-owner of Sir D’s.

And when the doors opened at 7am, the place was packed. The 300 free cups of coffee quickly disappeared, but that didn’t stop the customers. “We sold about 600 cups of coffee between 7am and noon,” said Katrina. “That’s about tenfold what we usually sell.”

Katrina also said her dad didn’t let her know until this morning. “It was a surprise to us as well,” the self-described Gilmore Girls fan said.

GG enthusiasts will now have to wait until November 25 for their next visit to Luke’s Diner.

But for now, we leave you with Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon of (the now defunct, sniffle sniffle) Sonic Youth, along with their daughter Coco Hayley Gordon Moore on bass (who was 11 years old at the time). They appeared in a 2006 episode. For those of you scoring at home, the song is a snippet from “What A Waste” from SY’s 2006 album Rather Ripped.

Hey, Luke’s Diner, Sonic Youth … everyone’s got a thing, right?

Special thanks to Nicole Block for the Gilmore Girls crash course.