Life is imitating art as the iconic coffee shop from Friends is opening another storefront.
In the hit ‘90s sitcom, the six main characters — played by Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and the late Matthew Perry — spend a majority of their time chatting and drinking coffee on an orange couch at Central Perk, the coffee shop below the Manhattan apartment several of the friends share.
A real-life version of the iconic shop opened in Boston in 2023. And now, a brand new Central Perk Coffeehouse is opening in New York City.
Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences announced the expansion of the iconic shop in a press release Tuesday. The coffeehouse will open in the late Fall in Times Square, specifically on the corner of 47th Street and Seventh Avenue.
Aside from classic iced and hot coffee drinks, Central Perk visitors can buy various pastries, sandwiches, and salads. The Manhattan store plans to offer the same menu as the Boston spot, which was created by Top Chef and James Beard Award Winner Tom Colicchio.
Central Perk’s six original coffee blends in ground, whole bean, and compostable capsule formats — also sold at the Boston store and online — will be available at the new shop, too. Plus, fans visiting the New York City location will have the chance to purchase exclusive merchandise.
The layout of the new cafe will include a cozy Orange Sofa room, inspired by the Central Perk couch on the show, and long wooden tables for guests to sit at.
“Friends is one of those rare shows that continues to bring people together, generation after generation,” Peter van Roden, EVP, Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences, said in a statement in the press release. “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.
“After a warm welcome in Boston, we're excited to bring Central Perk Coffeehouse to Times Square, a location that perfectly captures the energy, spirit, and global love for Friends, right in the city where it all began,” he added.
Paul Landino, Company Executive at CenPer Holdings, LLC, the company behind the Central Perk Coffeehouse, also celebrated the opening of the new store.
“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,” he added. “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.”
It’s no surprise that the Central Perk Coffeehouse is coming to New York City. In fact, there’s already an exhibit based on the show, The Friends Experience, in Manhattan where fans can interact with recreations of the Friends set and reenact iconic scenes.
Along with props and costumes available for viewing, there’s also a fully functioning Central Perk Cafe in The Friends Experience.
Friends premiered in 1994 and ran for 10 seasons. Even though the show ended in 2004, it remains a popular and binge-worthy program. In fact, the show’s producer, Warner Bros, still earns $1 billion a year from syndication revenue from reruns.
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