Every Sunday at 8 a.m., pick-up trucks line up in front of the Two Lights General Store as Cape Elizabeth’s unofficial “town council” assembles at the coffee bar.

“We can tell you everything that’s wrong with the town on Sunday morning,” said Danny O’Brien, truck driver and chairman of the coffee bar council.

One thing that was wrong in the councilor’s minds was the name of their meeting place: Two Lights General Store. Located on Route 77 in Cape Elizabeth, the diner and marketplace has changed its name back to Rudy’s of the Cape-the same name the business once held for more than 30 years.

When Mary Page and her husband, Ron, bought the business in 2003, they wanted to keep the name, but the rights to the “Rudy’s” name had not been released. Now that they are, Mary has jumped on the opportunity to officially change the name back.

“Two Lights was too confusing,” Page said, explaining that the name refers to any of a number of landmarks in the area. “Everyone called it Rudy’s anyway,” she said.

But the purpose of the name change is for more than convenience. Page hopes that her store reflects a certain philosophy. She thinks the name change helps in “going back to the simple, hometown niceness of it all.”

There’s a lot of tradition present in the store today. The history of its ownership is printed on the front of the diner menu, dating back to its conception. Lillian Bagley and her husband, Philip, built The Bagley’s Grocery Store and Snack Shop in the 1960s. By the end of the decade, they sold the establishment to Rudy Gagnon, and his brother-in-law, Ed, managed the store. According to Page, there were a lot of owners over a short time period, just before she bought the store. People feared that Rudy’s would be shut down for good.

“Every town needs a little corner store,” she said, “and this one was going down.”

Page said she had to clean for more than three weeks in order to get the store in operating condition. She also decided to paint over some of the red and white dacor she thought overpowered the store. The original motif remains in the floor tiles and checkered curtains.

But tradition at Rudy’s is not just in the recreation of the past. There are weekly rituals among the regulars that continue today.

The council is just one of many groups that habitually congregate at Rudy’s. In the afternoon, a group of retirees from town comes in for a cup of decaf. In the early morning, a group known as “the walkers” strolls down to Rudy’s, arriving at 5:30 a.m. Though the store opens at 6 a.m., Page makes an exception for these dedicated regulars. However, in order to prevent more customers from coming in early, Page keeps the lights off. She gets the store ready for business, as “the walkers” drink their coffee in the dark.

Page buys her coffee from Seacoast Coffee, a company recently started by her friend. “Everything here is from little, local companies,” she said. “Everybody tries to help each other out.”

Though most of Rudy’s business comes from the diner customers, who can order everything from pancakes to pizza, the heart of the store lies in the conversation and camaraderie between the coffee drinkers.

A cabinet sits beside the register filled with coffee mugs of all different shapes and patterns. Whenever Page sees a mug that she likes or that reminds her of one of her regulars, she’ll buy it to add to the collection. Customers can purchase mugs for $5, keep them at the store, and pay only 50 cents to fill up for life.

“We’ve retired two,” Page said, explaining, “two people have passed on, and we keep their mugs.”

Though Rudy’s is a nostalgic establishment, it’s also a store that’s concerned with the present-with making the customers who are there every week or every day or even for the first time feel right at home.

“It’s just a fun place,” Page said.