Reports coming in from The Blast suggest that a Central Perk cafe may be in the works.
In obtained legal documents, The Blast reported that Warner Bros. is toying with the idea of launching a Central Perk cafe for the public to enjoy. The news came earlier this month with the company getting rights to the Central Perk trademark in order to open a “coffee shop and cafe services; coffee bars; tea bars; snack bars…”
For those who may be skeptical of the news, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. The site also reported that Warner Bros. wanted to use the official Central Perk logo and went on to describe it as, “consist[ing] of a design of a banner above a shaded oval flanked by coffee cups with steam rising above them, with the banner bearing the stylized wording CENTRAL and the shaded oval bearing the stylized wording PERK with a coffee bean design on either side of the wording PERK.” So, from where we stand, Warner Bros. is talking about exactly what we hoped they were.
This isn’t the first time that a Central Perk has been rumored to make an appearance. Aside from the one available at the Warner Bros. studio, a Toronto Central Perk was meant to open in 2016, but the owner of the parody cafe, Josh Botticelli, was forced to end his project after he entered a trademark dispute with Warner Bros.
CTV reported that Botticelli received a letter from Warner Bros. a month after he created the Facebook page for his project. In an interview with CTV, he disclosed that Warner Bros. refused to allow the shop to open given the inevitable widespread attention it would earn and many people would more than likely believe the company was behind it.
“They said the reason was because of that fact that it was too big, the event was just too big for its own good,” Botticelli told CTV. “There was too much interest. Over 73,000 people said they were interested and 20,000 people said they were attending.”
The Blast also reported that Warner Bros. locked in the Central Perk logo for a collection of other items as well, which are said to include board games and slot machines.
I think I can speak for all Friends lovers when I say: could this project have TAKEN any longer?
