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It’s confirmed: Friends-inspired Central Perk cafe opening in S'pore in November

SINGAPORE — After months of speculation and waiting on tenterhooks, it is finally confirmed: Central Perk is opening its doors here on Nov 24 at Central Mall in Clarke Quay.

SINGAPORE — After months of speculation and waiting on tenterhooks, it is finally confirmed: Central Perk is opening its doors here on Nov 24 at Central Mall.

If you, like many of us, religiously watched every episode of Friends since it aired in 1994 and felt despair after the 10th and final season ended, the fact that you can now lounge on the trademark couch all day would probably be the best thing you have heard all year.

News first broke in June that the Friends-themed cafe was in the pipeline, with a tentative opening date of March next year. Friends’ “superfan: Lim Jit Min, 28, had said then that he was trying to raise funds on crowdfunding website Indiegogo as well as gauge market demand. He had also approached some friends to pitch in and was in talks with a 
few investors.

The crowdfunding initiative ultimately garnered more than 4,000 pledges, with more than S$5,000 raised. His creation of a Central Perk SG Facebook page on May 29 has since seen more than 16,000 likes — a fact that he said reaffirmed and solidified their belief that opening an actual cafe was the right choice.

News of his plans also drew likeminded fans, with several approaching Lim on Facebook to offer help. “More than 100 fans have messaged me on Facebook to say that they would love to be a part of this,” Lim shared.

Carolnye Ha, 25, was one of the many people who had contacted Lim. A huge fan of Friends, the owner of Space Co Group — which facilitates the renting of work spaces — offered Lim the use of a workspace for free for as long as he wanted, an offer which Lim took up.

Lim also managed to rope in two investors — a 35-year-old director of a shipping industry in Indonesia who wanted to be known only as Joey, and Derek Ong, 28, the owner of Roots Kitchen Bar on Dickson Road, which opened 10 months ago.

Joey had contacted Lim after hearing about the news, and had flown from Indonesia to Singapore to meet him. “We seemed to connect and he invited me to join the venture,” Joey shared.

Ong, who got connected with Lim through a common friend, describes this project as “extraordinary”. “It is something that I want to work on,” he added.

Both investors declined to share how much they have invested in the business.

A PLACE FOR TETE-A-TETES

“I’ve always personally been a fan of the show. All along, it was my dream to be able to set up a cafe like that,” explained Lim. He started watching Friends when he was 15, while studying at Anglo-Chinese School 
(Barker Road).

“Every Monday, from 9.30pm to 10pm, my friends and I would gather around at the hostel to watch the show together,” he recalled, adding that the show had gotten him through tough and dull times.

The show’s premise had spoken to him. He was drawn to the idea of having your own gang or group to hang out with at a regular spot. That, he added, is why he wanted to bring the set to life.

Lim envisions the cafe to be a place where people come together to have conversations, have fun and reminisce about the show.

As to why he brought the opening date forward, Lim said it is all thanks to the fans who have been helping to spread the word. “It has gotten so much demand and hype that we were able to smoothly secure investors, a location and partners, and have the opening earlier,” he said.

The question on everybody’s minds must be: What is the cafe going to look like?

Lim said that while they will “have to take in aspects of functionality”, fans can expect a realistic recreation of the set, such as the trademark orange couch, the coffee bar and, of course, the iconic Central Perk logo. The cafe, reassured Lim, will be “comfortable and will serve its purpose as a cafe”.

As for the menu, customers can look forward to dishes with “creative interpretations of the food you see in Friends”. For example, there will be cheesecake from Mama’s Little Bakery (whose baked goods had sent the characters into food heaven), the “Joey Special” (which comprises two pizzas) and the Moist Maker (Ross’ Thanksgiving sandwich), Lim 
revealed.

He is also looking to include a merchandise corner where fans can get their hands on mugs, caps and T-shirts printed with the founders’ favourite quotes from Friends.

Fans TODAY spoke to are looking forward to having a new haunt.

Freelancer Amber Yeo, 24, who is an ardent fan of Friends, said she would like to visit the cafe when it opens. “It would be a little surreal to eat in the place you have always seen on your screen,” she surmised. “I would love to have a cup of coffee on an orange couch similar to the one they always sit on.”

Another avid Friends enthusiast, Issac Yuen, 24, is enthralled by the idea. “I can’t wait for it to open,” the assistant lab technologist enthused, adding that he has rewatched the series twice.

So what does Lim have to say about all this attention Central Perk is getting? “I am overwhelmed. There is a lot of expectation to live up to, but at the same time, I am very touched that a lot of people have reached out to make this project a reality.”

Central Perk cafe is expected to open on Nov 24 at Central Mall, 1 Magazine Road, #01-01.

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