Ever heard of ‘set-jetting’?
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It’s a twist on the phrase jet-setting that covers any trips with destinations made famous by movies or TV shows.
You might set-jet to see a city, like Dubrovnik’s Old City where many Game of Thrones scenes were shot. Maybe it’s to a single location, like Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles, where Die Hard was filmed.
The more fanatic the fan, the longer the distance they’ll cover to come face-to-face with locations made famous on the silver screen.
But it’s not often that a business from a popular film or series would get a real-life counterpart. That’s the case with the newly opened Central Perk Coffee, a once-fictional destination made famous for being the main hangout of the Friends crew.
On an iconic orange couch, six friends weathered life’s more unbelievable adventures, and along the way, gathered a global following that has stood the test of time. Friends ended its ten-season run in 2004—and fans are ravenous as ever to get closer to one of their favorite shows, even twenty years down the line.
Ready to sip on a cappuccino at the real-life Central Perk Coffeehouse? Here’s what you need to know.
Grab a drink at Central Perk Coffeehouse in NYC
Central Perk Coffeehouse is located in Times Square, which means it’s not anywhere near the West Village location from the show, but much more accessible for visitors just passing through. The bigger question is whether the interior mirrors what viewers saw in the show.
Unfortunately, there’s no big orange couch. However, the establishment does have the rights from Warner Bros. to include certain branded elements of the show, including that famous Friends logo.
Uniquely, it’s the first Central Perk in NYC—but not the country. Previously, a Central Perk Coffeehouse opened in Boston under the same management (Central Perk Holdings, LLC). The same group plans to open more Central Perk Coffeehouses nationwide.
However, if you’re interested in official, branded Friends products, you can shop online for Central Perk retail—including coffee subscriptions.
