From the outside, it wasn’t much to look at.

The burgundy and white façade was bland at best. The parking spaces needed restriping years ago. Several broken horizontal slats in the window blinds showed evidence of too much heavy-handed peering. And two of the four newspaper racks near the front door were perpetually empty.

So long CK’s: Locals say goodbye to Midtown restaurant after demolition

As one regular customer told me, “It was just this little raggedy old building.”

But on the inside, there was something inexplicably special about CK’s Coffee Shop at 1698 Poplar Ave. in Midtown. Some might say it was the Paul Bunyan breakfast, the house specialty. Others will say it was the grilled cheese sandwiches, the hash browns, the burgers cooked to perfection or the never-ending flow of freshly brewed coffee served in those dark brown mugs.

Still others enjoyed the rhythm and blues music from the jukebox on the west wall.

For me, it was a semi-healthy breakfast of oatmeal, scrambled eggs and an occasional sausage patty almost every weekday morning for nearly 20 years. Or, less often for lunch, it was a hamburger with mayo, lettuce, tomato and onion on wheat toast made especially for me. The cooks knew never to put cheese on my burger.

But mostly my love of CK’s was about the people, the regulars, who showed up like clockwork every morning and became an informal coffee klatch to talk sports — mainly pro football — and politics, or to share the latest gossip.

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These regulars included blue collar folks such as painters, carpenters, electricians and other skilled laborers about to start their day. But they also included politicians, lawyers, police officers, educators, office administrators and retirees.

The racial diversity was a microcosm of Memphis — white, Black and Latino, all enjoying each other’s company.

There were seniors on walkers and toddlers in high chairs and booster seats. The red oval sign in the parking lot boasted that CK’s was “always open,” serving early birds heading to work as well as night owls winding down from a night out clubbing.

And aside from a few first-timers and out-of-towners, it really was a place where everybody knew your name.

But it all ended on July 14, 2021, when CK’s abruptly shut its doors for good. A makeshift sign on a large Post-it board said simply, “Closed Permanently 07-14-21.”

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And on Tuesday, June 13, a demolition crew made it official when CK’s was knocked down and the debris cleared to make way for a Scooter’s Drive-Thru Coffee Shop. Scooter’s is a Nebraska-based coffee shop chain that started in 1998 with the first location — called Scooter’s Java Express — in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Owners Don and Linda Eckles settled on the Scooter’s name because of their mission to keep customers happy by helping them “scoot in and scoot out quickly,” according to the company’s web site.

And that’s probably a good business strategy if the aim is to serve people who are in a hurry. But it’s the complete opposite of CK’s easy-going dining experience.

Longtime CK’s regular Derrice Snipes is the one who described it as “just this little raggedy old building.” But she said it with affection. Some 20 years ago, Snipes started making the little shop of laughs her daily stop for eggs, toast, coffee and conversation — mostly about local and national politics — before heading to work at Southwest Tennessee Community College.

“It was something about the anticipation of getting there and connecting with people,” said Snipes, a Florida native who now works at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as a grants and contracts coordinator. “I wouldn’t stay any more than a half hour, but it was the best half hour of my day.”

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On Mondays during pro football season, the conversation was always about the winners and losers of Sunday NFL games. Cowboys fans argued with Steelers fans.

But we were all careful not to criticize the team from New England. Doing so would risk the ire of CK’s manager and lead cook Mary Bell, a diehard Patriots fan who worked at the diner 27 years.

And that was another special thing about CK’s. There was never much turnover in the staff. We knew every worker, if only by their first name — Ultra, Tina, Rose, Ashley, Yvonne — who retired several years ago — and Jeanette.

In addition to Derrice and me, the first names of other regular morning customers included Bill, Flo, Elvis, Mike, Donnie, Cedrick, John, Steve, Kelvin, Graham, Jeff, Christine, and Delia. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen would drop by occasionally for coffee and a chat, as would Memphis-Shelby County Schools board member Althea Greene and the late city councilman Fred Davis.

It wasn’t all laughs and friendly debates. There were also somber moments when we learned of the death of a CK’s regular or family member.

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How this unattractive little diner in the heart of Midtown managed to attract such a broad and loyal customer base is difficult to explain. Other eateries were certainly more stylish and spacious.

But none of them had the intangibles that CK’s had — consistently good food at a reasonable price, good service even on busy days, lively conversation, good music and a homey atmosphere. You might say CK’s was its own little public square that provided a real sense of community.

Now, with the demolition, it’s all just a memory. A fancier new-age coffee shop, one that relies on getting customers on their way in minutes, will soon spring up on the tiny spot of ground on Poplar Avenue between Belvedere Boulevard and Evergreen Street.

It’s the 21st Century way of the world, I suppose, where speed and assembly line-style service take precedent over cordiality in a familiar place where everybody knows your name.