After several pop-up cafés and an established fan café in Boston, Manhattan is finally getting its own "Central Perk" in Midtown.
When it comes to legendary sitcoms, few can match "Friends", which dominated TV screens in the 1990s and early 2000s. Viewers followed the turbulent lives of main characters Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe for a grand total of ten seasons and 236 episodes before the series finally came to an end in 2003.
Now 22 years later, diehard fans can look forward to a very special kind of café. This fall, a permanent version of "Central Perk" is set to open its doors in Manhattan, more precisely on the corner of 47th Street and 7th Avenue. Anyone who watched the TV series knows that "Central Perk" was the primary hangout of the titular friends – a cozy coffee shop with large sofas on the ground floor of their Greenwich Village apartment building.
The café in Midtown is not exactly the first of its kind. Two years ago, a "Central Perk" opened in Boston and pop-up cafés emulating the famous sitcom set have always been well attended. Predictably, news of this new, permanent home for "Friends" fans has been well received. There is currently no exact opening date – but the café is set to open later this year.
When the time comes, visitors can look forward to special coffee creations, snacks and dishes that reference the sitcom. And at the center of the café? The unmistakable yellow sofa. And if you just can't wait – there's always streaming.
