Central Perk

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This article is about the coffee shop in Friends. For the US park see Central park.

Central Perk logo.

Central Perk is a fictional coffee shop in New York City's Greenwich Village. It is situated near Monica's apartment, and was one of the focal points of the popular television sitcom Friends.^[1]^[2] It was one of the show's main sets in which the six main characters spent the majority of their free time talking about their problems. It is based on Cholmondeley's, a coffee shop and lounge in Usen Castle at Brandeis University, the alma mater of the show's creators. The name is a play on words of 'Central Park' (referring to the park also in New York) and 'perk', referring to the percolator type of coffee pot.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Management
2 Wait staff
3 Entertainment
4 Trivia
5 References

The space was formerly occupied by the gang's old hangout, a bar. Central Perk is owned by a man named Terry (played by Max Wright), who according to Rachel and Phoebe is a 'jerk'. Terry was rarely seen and left most of the running of his coffee shop to Gunther, who became a permanent fixture in the shop, due to him being the only cast member on set who could work the huge espresso machine in the back. The large sofa on the middle of the shop, the chair on the right (as seen from the main camera angle), the central table, and the table and chair on the left are nearly always used as the main setting for any scenes in Central Perk. In the earlier episodes, irrespective of how busy the coffee shop became, those seats were always available. The writers turned this into a joke, and in one episode the six main characters arrive in the shop to find their seats taken. They then look at each other, puzzled, and walk out.

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Rachel Green has worked as a waitress at Central Perk. This was her first job. She regularly got orders mixed up, put items in the wrong places, neglected to clean the espresso machine, and blamed her poor performance on the fact she didn't care about the job. Rachel eventually quit to pursue a fashion career in the third season, in the episode titled The One Where Rachel Quits.

Joey Tribbiani became a waiter when he found that money was tight, needing another job while his acting career was at a standstill. He was as terrible as Rachel, partly because he felt he had gone backward on the hierarchy of occupations. He had problems with giving out free drinks and other products of Central Perk such as muffins, to the beautiful women who came into the store, and when reprimanded, pretended as if it were their birthdays so they could still receive free food.

Rachel offered Joey some advice on waiting at Central Perk:

A smile goes a long way
The customer is always right
If a customer is annoying, sneezemuffin (a complimentary muffin which you sneeze on)

Phoebe Buffay was also a regular fixture in Central Perk, and played songs such as Smelly Cat to often bemused audiences. Phoebe was, at one point, replaced by Stephanie Schiffer (played by Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders), a professional who was hired by Terry. It is also shown in The One with Phoebe's Ex-partner that Central Perk holds open mic nights. Ross also played keyboard once in the coffee shop.

Central Perk in its current state at Warner Bros Studios in Los Angeles.

As of April 2006, the Central Perk set is still set up at the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, CA.

In The One with George Stephanopoulos, Joey proves to Chandler that Central Perk is less [sic] than 100 steps from their apartment, counting 97 steps from the apartment to the inside of the shop.

The artwork in the back of Central Perk changes every three episodes.

Central Perk has inspired a coffee shop franchise by the same name that mirrors the style and aesthetics of the fictional one portrayed in the series Friends. There is a Central Perk in Athens (Greece), Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and Geneva (Switzerland). The Dubai chain store has James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther, as the spokesman.

There was at one stage a "Phoenix Perk" coffee shop in Dublin, Ireland. This is in reference to Phoenix Park, the city park within Dublin. The restaurant was modelled to look just like Central Perk.

There is a Bidwell Perk in Chico, CA, referring to Bidwell Park located in the area.

The Coffee products in the glass case in the front of the counter are changed at least once a season.

Over the 10 seasons of the show, nothing was spilled on the couch and no marks were to be seen. However, on the night of filming of The Last One (the final episode), Jennifer Aniston's pen, that she was using to sign autographs while sitting on the couch, burst and there is now a large ink stain on the back of the couch^{[citation needed]}.

^ Ellen, Gray. "Still just 'Friends'?", Philadelphia Daily News - Philly.com, 2007-01-02. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
^ "Coffee is on at e-comm Cafe on Main Avenue", The Star Beacon, 2006-12-14. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.