A Perk For A Fortnight

The massively successful american sitcom Friends, is celebrating its 15th Aniversary since the first pilot episode went on TV, in the form of a pop-up version of the coffee shop, Central Perk. This two week long stunt is in aid of promoting Warner TV's new limited-edition box set featuring unseen footage.

The opening of the coffee shop did not feature the original cast, although the actor who plays Gunther was in London on the first day alongside other celebrities including Peaches Geldof, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Kimberly Walsh. So there's no chance of Rachel serving you your coffee, but maybe some lookalikes should have been cast to add to the atmosphere and really make you feel like your on set in New York!

The coffee shop has been designed as a replica including the fake redbrick walls, fake tiffany-style lamps, the velvet orange sofa, green armchair, Oriental rugs, tiled floors and big 'Central Perk' stickers on the windows. There are also real props from the programme scattered around to add to the nostalgia and novelty factor. For example Joey's "best buds" bracelet, the "Geller Cup", the hurtful list Ross wrote about Rachel saying she was "just a waitress", Rachel's wedding dress and Brown Bird Cookies. I can imagine there will be a lot more photo snapping and cameras flashing capturing customers posing next to all the props, rather than drinking the free coffee that would probably go cold by the time the excitement had worn off a little! Creating a less peaceful and relaxing atmosphere than the original of the show!

Unlike the other pop-up I mentioned in my blog (The Double Club), the coffee shop only serves drinks, apart from a small selection of chocolates and cookies. There is a very short menu, consisting of 5 types of coffee which are all free! Before visiting, you can download your free coffee voucher from http://www.warnertv.com/friends/.

Central Perk is on Broadwick Street, just off Carnaby Street in London. It is open from the 24th September till the 6th October. I heard about it from a friend who tried to visit the shop yesterday, but the queues where just too big! Unfortunately I am back at Uni so won't get a chance to visit the coffe shop. I definitely would have popped in if I could though, for those photo opportunity's and experience the excitement and hype surrounding a TV show I never seem to get sick of how many times I see it...I don't think I ever will!

I think the pop-up shop is already proving to be a massive success and hugely popular with the enormous fan base the TV series has! I even think that the idea of replicating "Central Perk" as a coffee shop that would stick around a little longer than just two weeks, would also work and be a popular, steadily busy tourist attraction (similar to that of the several Cheers bar replicas located in the USA).