In which another piece of buzzy news is making us feel old, it's been two decades (!) since we first met our favorite gang of six (as opposed to the OG Party Of Five)—Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, Ross, and Joey. Friends, and that Rembrandts song, provoke a sense of nostalgia to a time when we were blissfully unaware that two semi-employed NYC women could never afford the cavernous apartment they inhabited (echoes of that would come later, when a weekly tabloid columnist could afford a one-bedroom/one-bath brownstone on the Upper East Side).
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Friends' first air date, a pop-up replica of the sitcom's beloved Central Perk opened in Nolita just yesterday, and is slated to keep the coffee hot through October 18. And though the spot might be a fake, the coffee and artifacts are real, atourist trap ingenious partnership between Eight O'Clock Coffee and Warner Bros. The line, which wraps around the block, is a (slowly) moving drove of fans patiently waiting to ooh and aah over memorabilia and pretend that they are just one of the gang.
The hoard of die-hards prevented us from getting a spot inside, so we hung around Lafayette Street, made a few fast friends, and asked them what elements of the show were faker than this café.
1. “Monica and Rachel’s apartment was huge by Manhattan standards. In reality, they would have been sharing a converted one-bedroom apartment.”
2. “Living in the city, you’d think they would be better dressed, like in cooler outfits. Especially when Rachel was working in fashion.”
3. “There seemed to be a lot of single, decent guys for Rachel to date. But I guess that was pre-Tinder, so…”
4. “There were waiters at the coffee shop. It always confused me. Did they serve food? I can’t remember.”
5. “Gunther wore a different tie in every episode. How could he afford that many ties on a barista salary?”
6. “The fact that the friends were almost always able to snag the only desirable seating area in the whole place is unbelievable. And they camped out there for hours without anyone giving them the stink eye. There would be people circling like vultures.”
7. “Joey being able to live without roommates despite being a barely working actor. And that he could afford to do anything.”
8. “The two sets of friends ending up together would never happen. Going from friends to dating almost never works out.”
The Central Perk Pop-Up Cafe, located at 199 Lafayette Street, will be open through October 18![]()
Central Perk or Tourist Central? For pictures of the interior, check this out.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Friends' first air date, a pop-up replica of the sitcom's beloved Central Perk opened in Nolita just yesterday, and is slated to keep the coffee hot through October 18. And though the spot might be a fake, the coffee and artifacts are real, a
The hoard of die-hards prevented us from getting a spot inside, so we hung around Lafayette Street, made a few fast friends, and asked them what elements of the show were faker than this café.
1. “Monica and Rachel’s apartment was huge by Manhattan standards. In reality, they would have been sharing a converted one-bedroom apartment.”
2. “Living in the city, you’d think they would be better dressed, like in cooler outfits. Especially when Rachel was working in fashion.”
3. “There seemed to be a lot of single, decent guys for Rachel to date. But I guess that was pre-Tinder, so…”
4. “There were waiters at the coffee shop. It always confused me. Did they serve food? I can’t remember.”
5. “Gunther wore a different tie in every episode. How could he afford that many ties on a barista salary?”
6. “The fact that the friends were almost always able to snag the only desirable seating area in the whole place is unbelievable. And they camped out there for hours without anyone giving them the stink eye. There would be people circling like vultures.”
7. “Joey being able to live without roommates despite being a barely working actor. And that he could afford to do anything.”
8. “The two sets of friends ending up together would never happen. Going from friends to dating almost never works out.”
The Central Perk Pop-Up Cafe, located at 199 Lafayette Street, will be open through October 18
Central Perk or Tourist Central? For pictures of the interior, check this out.