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Central Perk cafe's S$1,000 membership fee is to 'identify core fans'

Friends inspired cafe Central Perk has announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday afternoon (Oct 25) that it is launching a membership programme priced at S$1,000, and this membership was "intended to identify our core fans."

Would you pay a S$1,000 a year to get to sit on the famed Friends orange couch as a member of Central Perk cafe?

Would you pay a S$1,000 a year to get to sit on the famed Friends orange couch as a member of Central Perk cafe?

SINGAPORE — Friends inspired cafe Central Perk has announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday afternoon (Oct 25) that it is launching an annual membership programme priced at S$1,000. The membership will include several perks such as priority queue — members get to bring up to five guests at once, table reservation, which includes sitting on the iconic orange couch as seen in the show, event bookings for birthdays or wedding shoots, and exclusive invitations to pre-launch events and tastings at their cafe.

Founder of Central Perk, Lim Jit Min, 28, wrote on the cafe’s Facebook page that, “We are also in talks with partners to bring more benefits to our members.”

Lim told TODAY that this membership has been launched as part of a crowd-funding exercise. “It was intended to identify our core fans. We have some exciting plans in store. Casual fans and the  general public can still visit like it is a normal cafe.”

While the online reactions towards the S$1,000 membership price tag range from annoyed (“S$1,000!!! You're a themed coffee shop, no more and no less. Get over yourselves!!”) to perplexed (“I don't see how those perks should cost that much for us as consumers”), Lim said that there are already fans who have purchased it. He declined to reveal the number of those who signed up but said he has also gotten more than 10 enquiries about the application process.

He added: “We will not be lowering the membership fee. It wouldn’t be fair to those who have purchased it.”

Central Perk cafe is expected to open next month on Nov 24 at Central Mall. 

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