‘Friends’ Central Perk To Be Erected In New York To Celebrate 20th Anniversary

Have you ever fantasized about re-creating your favorite Friends scenes inside Central Perk? Well, your dreams could become a reality after it was announced that a pop-up replica of the beloved television location is set to open up for a month in New York.

The faux Central Perk will open in the SoHo area of the Big Apple, on 199 Lafayette St., at the corner of Broome Street, and people will be able to venture inside from September 17 until October 18.

Unfortunately though, Courtney Cox, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Matt Le Blanc, and Lisa Kudrow won’t be present throughout that time to reprise their roles as Monica Gellar, Chandler Bing, Ross Gellar, Rachel Green, Joey Tribbiani, and Phoebe Buffay, respectively.

The shop has been opened to mark the 20th anniversary of the hugely popular sitcom, which ran from September 1994 until May 2004, and revolved around the antics of the six friends, all of whom lived in Manhattan. It went on to be nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, while its final episode was watched by over 50 million people when it aired.

Inside the pop-up Central Perk, you will be able to get free cups of Eight O’Clock Coffee, which will also include the brand’s Central Perk Roast that has been specifically created for this anniversary.

Meanwhile James Michael Tyler, who played the blonde-haired Central Perk waiter Gunter on Friends throughout its history, is set to make numerous appearances too. There will be various props from Friends there, including the iconic orange couch, while there will also be live musical performances every night too, which will probably include numerous renditions of “Smelly Cat” as well as the opportunity to purchase and win Friends merchandise.

Of course, the millions upon millions of Friends fans from around the world are still pining that further episodes of the show will be created, or that a movie might even be released, too.

However, last year Lisa Kudrow confirmed that a Friends movie will never occur, saying during an interview: “There was never a Friends movie. Ever. So I’ve always known it’s not happening.” Kudrow did confirm that she was almost tricked by an online prank though, which saw a graphic and caption reading, “Friends. The One With The Reunion. Thanksgiving 2014.”

“I went, ‘Wait a minute, was I not invited? Oh, my God, maybe there is one, and I wasn’t asked to do it,’ I even had a moment where I believed it because everything around it looked real. It was a good setup,” she explained.