Meanwhile, East Coasters can hit up 51 Bank St. in the West Village, the former site of Arnold’s Turtle Vegetarian Cafe, the layout of which, with its corner door, also served as inspiration for the design of Central Perk. I made what I like to refer to as the seventh character on the show.” Indeed, Central Perk is as synonymous with Friends as Rachel, Joey, Chandler, Monica, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) and Ross (David Schwimmer) themselves!Īmazingly, Insomnia Cafe is still in operation all these years later, serving up lattes and exhibiting the same bohemian vibe that so inspired Grande. Nothing really matched, but there was collectible artwork on the wall, so I took that and kind of drove that point in. called The Insomniac Cafe and that was kind of, in my world, the inspiration for eclectic, old, classic pieces of furniture. I had mentioned to them that there was a place in West Hollywood - I still think it’s around - it was one of the first interesting coffee shops in L.A. What did they used to call them back then? Internet cafes? So the vibe that Marta and Kevin and David Crane wanted was, let’s make this feel like it’s truly a comfortable, casual living room. You know, not your typical generic coffee shop with the computers. And I remember we were talking about how that would be a cool place to have as one of our main sets … we liked the idea of something being over-caffeinated.” So central is the eatery to Friends origin story that Kauffman and Crane even initially named the show “Insomnia Cafe!”īut the coffee shop’s impact on the series doesn’t end there! The space also served as the inspiration for the design of Central Perk! Set decorator Greg Grande told Entertainment Weekly, “The idea was to have it feel like it was kind of a living room, hang out space. To hear creator Marta Kauffman tell it (as she did in a 2010 interview with the Television Academy), “We were driving along – I think it was Beverly Boulevard – and we saw a place called the Insomnia Cafe. Though coffee is not served on the premises – and Gunther (James Michael Tyler) is nowhere to be found! – those hankering for a cup of joe can grab one at the functioning Central Perk-themed cafe located adjacent to the set.įans who really want to go on a Friends location deep-dive should hit up Insomnia Cafe at 7286 Beverly Blvd.
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tour! It currently sits looking unchanged from its Must-See TV days inside of Stage 48, the lot’s interactive Script to Screen exhibit and visitors are invited to explore, take photographs and reenact their favorite scenes amongst the familiar props. It, too, was dismantled after filming wrapped, but, fortunately, the vibrant space, with its iconic orange couch and chalkboard signage, was subsequently rebuilt for fans to enjoy as part of the Warner Bros. (Though the production center is currently closed to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic, tours are expected to resume this summer.)Ĭentral Perk (“Oh, I just got that!”), the coffee shop where the gang regularly hung out, was also a set initially built on Stage 5 and then later on Stage 24.
Studio Tour Hollywood, a three-hour interactive and intimate jaunt through the lot and its facilities.
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The structure, which is also where Full House was filmed from 1993 through 1995, can be viewed in person as part of the Warner Bros. Stage 24, though, still stands and is now known as The Friends Stage in honor of the sitcom’s seminal success. When filming wrapped in 2004, the apartment sets were dismantled and, sadly, no longer exist (though they were re-created for Friends: The Reunion). The first season of the show made use of Stage 5, but by season two, after the series had become a bonafide hit, the production moved to the much larger Stage 24, which served as its home for the nine years that followed.
The interior of Monica and Rachel’s colorful apartment, as well as that of Joey and Chandler’s (sawed-in-half door included!) were sets constructed a good 2,800 miles away at Warner Bros. The restaurant on the building’s ground floor also popped up as Kate, Nick and Zoe’s Bistro in the 2007 romantic comedy No Reservations.
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