LEILA FADEL, HOST:
After nearly a quarter century, Larry David is saying farewell to his grumpy on-screen persona in the hit HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm." The final season started last night. To celebrate, two coffee shops in the Los Angeles area were temporarily transformed into replicas of Latte Larry's, the spite store he opened in Season 10. NPR's Paige Waterhouse has more.
PAIGE WATERHOUSE, BYLINE: On a rainy Sunday afternoon in Culver City, Calif., a line of customers wraps around the building of what is usually known as Menotti's Coffee Stop. But this weekend, they're not waiting for just an average cup of Joe.
EMILY DALY: I am braving the weather for a nice cup of spite per Latte Larry's.
WATERHOUSE: Emily Daly has been standing in line for 2 1/2 hours. Daly has been a fan of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" since she was 5 years old.
DALY: I love Larry - live, laugh, love, Larry.
WATERHOUSE: Menotti's Coffee Stop partnered with HBO to convert their Culver City and Venice Beach locations into this interactive experience. Each fan gets a free hot cup of spite - better known as black coffee - and a dry scone. Latte Larry beans, mugs and T-shirts are also available for purchase. Graham Rothenberg is president and general manager of The Syndicate, an entertainment marketing agency that put on the event.
GRAHAM ROTHENBERG: We've had just people celebrating what's been an amazing run of this epic television show, and they're sad to see it go, but they're also really excited to see what happens.
WATERHOUSE: While sipping their spite, fans speculate how the show will end. Here's Rafael Portillo, Sophie Friedland and Jacob Johansen.
RAFAEL PORTILLO: I think he's probably going to end up kind of like in Seinfeld. It'd be funny, like, if it goes full circle.
SOPHIE FRIEDLAND: I've heard a lot of people say that they think he's just going to die at the end, which - I hope not.
JACOB JOHANSEN: He's not going to die. He already did die - Season 5.
WATERHOUSE: Regardless of how the show wraps up in April, all fans seem to agree that it's going to be...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Pretty, pretty good.
WATERHOUSE: Paige Waterhouse, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF LUCIANO MICHELINI'S "IL BARONE ROSSO") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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