'Friends'-themed coffee shop will be there for you in Times Square
A real life Central Perk Coffeehouse — inspired by one frequented by Monica, Rachel and Chandler, above, along with Joey and Ross on the long-running sit-com, "Friends," is set to open in Times Square late in the fall. Credit: Warner Bros. / Getty Images
To all New Yorkers feeling stuck in second gear — clap-clap-clap-clap — a "Friends"-themed coffee shop is making its way here.
A real-life Central Perk Coffeehouse — inspired by the one Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel and Ross frequented throughout the storied sitcom’s nine seasons — is coming to Times Square, according to a news release from Central Perk Coffee Co. and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences.
In a part of Manhattan with a Starbucks on nearly every block, the forthcoming coffee shop, according to the release, will stand out for tourists who prefer a dash of turn-of-the-century TV history with their latte or cappuccino. The store will open at 20 Times Square — the northeast corner of Seventh Avenue and 47th Street — in the late fall, the release said.
James Beard Award winner and "Top Chef" executive producer Tom Colicchio will spearhead the shop’s menu, according to the release, which did not include an opening date.
Central Perk pop-up locations have appeared in multiple cities over the years, including in New York in 2014, 20 years after the show first premiered and hardly ever went away due to syndication and streaming. The fully realized and Warner Bros.-authorized coffee company sells "Friends"-inspired whole bean and ground coffee online. It opened its first permanent location in Boston in 2023.
"When we launched the first Central Perk Coffeehouse in Boston, our goal was always to expand to New York City, a place where fans and friends alike could create their own stories in the city where the series was set," Paul Landino the executive of CenPer Holdings LLC, which owns and operates Central Perk Coffeehouses, said in a statement.
"Opening in Times Square, known as the crossroads of the world, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring that vision to life, offering creative coffee drinks and delicious food in a space that is both familiar and refreshingly modern," Landino said.
While the New York location will not be carbon copy of the set millions of Americans watched every week, a rendering of the forthcoming shop indicates at least one fixture will overlap — an orange couch, above which a sign reads "THE ONE WITH ..." a nod to the common format of the series’ episode titles.
"FRIENDS is one of those rare shows that continues to bring people together, generation after generation," Peter van Roden, executive vice president of Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences, said in a statement. "At the heart of that story was always Central Perk, the iconic coffeehouse and the group's home base, set in Manhattan. It was a place where laughter, connection, and unforgettable moments were shared ... and it remains that today."
