Bring Back The Beloved TV Restaurant Hangout

After a busy day of roaming my middle school halls in the early '90s, I would often unwind with an episode or two of the classic kid syndicate Saved by the Bell. While watching, I'd pine for an experience where my friends and I — just like Zack, Kelly, Screech, Slater, Lisa, and Jessie — could hang out together in a quirky diner. After all, The Max was where the group figured out their lives, cooked up their infamous plans, and drank chocolate milkshakes with wild abandon, no annoying parents nearby to give nutritional advice.

As I got further along in my teenage years, shows like Beverly Hills, 90210 (The Peach Pit), Friends (Central Perk), and eventually Seinfeld (Monk's Cafe) and Sex and the City (Cafeteria) taught me that, one day, I was going to live somewhere and have a group of friends — and we would congregate and talk about our lives in a no-frills establishment with diner food, desserts, and plenty of coffee.

For a while, that's what happened. Then, the age of introversion ruined it.

OK, that sounded really bitter, so let me rewind. The internet has given us plenty of advantages. Now, when I watch something on TV and a character looks vaguely familiar, I can look that actor up and read their entire life story. But despite the glut of TV we have in the age of streaming — documentaries, dramas, reality shows, you name it — the cafe is something I sorely miss.

Think about it: Some of the best and most iconic moments in all the shows I listed above (and probably countless others) happened in the restaurant or cafe the characters shared.

For example . . .

• Friends, Season 2, Episode 7, "The One Where Ross Finds Out" — Ross and Rachel share their first steamy kiss in none other than Central Perk. (And, hello, the entire show started when Rachel showed up at the cafe wearing her wedding dress.)
• Sex and the City, Season 3, Episode 9, "Easy Come, Easy Go" — Samantha reveals at the girls' usual brunch spot that she is having, um, unpleasantries with her latest hook-up. Charlotte storms out of the eatery, much to our amusement, and in a memorable moment of SATC history, Carrie asks to cancel her rice pudding.
• Beverly Hills, 90210, Season 1, Episode 15, "Fame is Where You Find It" – Brandon is unexpectedly busy with a TV show venture, and Brenda decides to fill in for him at The Peach Pit. There, she leans into a new role of her own when she adapts her quirky, middle-aged alter ego "Laverne."
• Seinfeld, Season 5, Episode 14, "The Marine Biologist" — George gives his iconic monologue as a marine biologist (including the line "the sea was angry that day, my friends") to Jerry and Kramer, revealing how he rescued a whale from a golf ball.

These classic scenes helped us understand how our favorite characters interacted with one another, and even helped us identify ourselves within our real-life groups.

So, I propose that TV shows should bring back these gathering spots. My hunch is that watching other people on screen enjoy in-person company and interact in meaningful or humorous ways will keep our own social skills sharp. I mean, how many of us are satisfied to stay home with our families and pets, especially since the pandemic? We all need a refresher on how to have awkward run-ins in public — and what better way to do that than to watch it on TV?