Entertainment

Friends like these: NY to get ‘Central Perk’ cafe from beloved sitcom

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FILE - Matthew Perry, from left, Courteney Cox Arquettte, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc of the television show "Friends" arrive for NBC's 75th Anniversary event on May 5, 2002 in New York. Perry, who starred Chandler Bing has died. The actor was found dead of an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home on Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Times and celebrity website TMZ, which was the first to report the news. Both outlets cited unnamed sources confirming Perry’s death. His publicists and other representatives did not immediately return messages seeking comment. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg, File)

Devotees of fan favorite “Friends” will soon be able to sip a cup of Joey in a Manhattan recreation of the “Central Perk” cafe made famous by the sitcom.

Just don’t expect the coffee to cost US$3 a cup like it did in the acclaimed television show at the turn of the millennium.

The latest reincarnation of the hot drink haunt will feature plush apricot-color couches and clipart-style logos faithful to the TV series that ran from 1994 to 2004.

Central Perk Coffee Co, which already has an outpost in Boston, will run the Manhattan branch which will be based in the Times Square tourist hub and is due to open in late 2025.

It announced the venture in a joint statement with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences Tuesday.

“At the heart of (the Friends) story was always Central Perk, the iconic coffeehouse and the group’s home base, set in Manhattan,” said Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences executive Peter van Roden.

A play on the name of Manhattan’s iconic Central Park, Phoebe, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey and Monica would regularly gather in the fictious establishment.

The name has been applied to a number of imitation cafes as far afield as Shanghai, China.

Coffee blends offered by Central Perk Coffee Co include “We were on a ‘coffee’ break” and the “Pivot blend” -- homages to two prominent storylines.