The world is two things right now. It is a shitty and terrifying place that only seems to be getting worse. And it is also deeply in love with ‘90s nostalgia. And so, to use one to temporarily allay the reality of the other, we bring you news today of Central Perk, the fictional coffee shop from the era-defining multi-cam sitcom Friends, which is now a permanent brick-and-mortar in New York City.
The Central Perk has already seeped into the real world on various occasions, mostly as temporary cafes in the pre-COVID times, when themed pop-ups were all the rage (see: the Gilmore Girls-inspired Luke’s Diner pop-ups). There is even a permanent installation in Boston, but this is the first location in NYC, which means it’s the first real location.
As reported by Variety, the Central Perk will be on the northeast corner of 7th Avenue and 47th Street, in Times Square. It will made to look like the namesake coffee shop from the show, which is to say, a cozy ‘90s style coffee house. It will also include a replica of the orange couch that the cast spent an ungodly amount of time on despite supposedly having jobs. But because this is also an “experience” there will be meta-show things like themed blends and merchandise available for purchase.
There will also be “Friends-inspired food items” available, that have been “guided” by restauranteur and Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio. Now, what Friends-inspired fare means who can say. I’m racking my Friends episode rolodex for any food mentions and the best I’m coming up with is the time Ross dressed up as a potato in outer space, or Spudnik, that others referred to as “space doody.” Or there was the time Joey only ate the skin of the fried chicken, leaving the meat “up for grabs.”
The NYC Central Perk officially opens in the fall, which should give you more than enough time to bone up on your Friends quotes to casually drop while waiting for your coffee, that will be served but for some reason not made in a Chemex.
So if you want to put your head in the sand for a little while and cozy up to the warmth of nostalgia, you’d be forgiven for schlepping your way to Times Square to enjoy a bit of non-reality.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
