“Friends” coffee shop, Central Perk, opens first permanent location with a Matthew Perry tribute
The one where Central Perk enters the real world as an actual coffee house.
Central Perk was an iconic part of Friends. Now, after much-hyped pop-ups, the coffee shop is getting a permanent, real-world location in Boston, and it opened on Tuesday with a perfect tribute to late star Matthew Perry.
The original opening date was delayed following Perry's death on Oct. 28, according to PEOPLE. But Central Perk's time has come. It opened with a tribute to Perry's Chandler Bing. All week, hot drinks come with a coffee sleeve that bears the Chandler quote, "Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?"
Following the opening celebrations, Central Perk will have a variety of sleeves with quotes from the whole gang of friends.
The opening comes after years of pop-up Perks in New York and California, created by Warner Bros. Discovery as a way of promoting Friends streaming on Max. Central Perk is banking on that ongoing love of Friends, which has been proven by its popularity on Max, the buzz around the 2021 reunion special, and the outpouring of love for Perry following his death last month.
Central Perk was concocted with the help of restauranteur and Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio, per the coffeehouse's website. That site also offers fans not in the Boston area an opportunity to acquire Friends-themed goods like "How You Doin'?" and "Oh. My. Gawd!" coffee beans and pods. As you'd expect, there is a Disney World level of merch on offer. You can get Central Perk mugs, glasses, shirts, hats, stickers, notebooks, pens, and aprons. Though there's no Dole Whip served in a plastic Duck Jr. cup, so it's not quite a theme park yet.
There are also plans to extend store hours in the future, which will coincide with it offering beer, wine, and a "a creative twist on espresso martinis."
Inside the brick-and-mortar location, a replica of the orange couch where the Friends crew often sat sits under a neon sign that reads, "The one with..." However, don't expect Central Perk to look like you're stepping into a '90s coffee shop with people joking about this new-fangled cappuccino thing. "It's not about creating a replica of it," architect Glen Coben told PEOPLE, "it's really looking at what it would look like today. It's a modern interpretation of what a coffee shop or Central Perk would look like in 2024."
See more images from inside Central Perk in Boston, including fun Friends Easter eggs, below.
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