Would you pay $943 to be able to sit on a replica of this couch with your friends?
FRIENDS fans in Asia were thrilled to discover that a replica of the famed coffee shop Central Perk was coming to Singapore. But they probably shouldn’t start busting out their “Smelly Cat” renditions just yet.
The new — and permanent — addition to Singapore’s cafe scene, is also an exclusive club and comes with a hefty membership fee of $1000 a year ($AUD943).
According to Central Perk Singapore’s official Facebook page, members who opt to fork out the big bucks will get to skip the line, bring in guests, make reservations to sit on the iconic orange couch, receive exclusive invitations to pre-launch events, and other perks.
The announcement was met with plenty of hostility from fans.
“Dead in the water before even opening,” one Facebok user commented.
Another wrote: “What kind of marketing strategy is this?”
One follower added: “$1000 can pay for me to go to Vietnam, stay in a lovely hotel for a week and drink the marvellous coffee there in one of the many quaint cafes there.”
Another wrote: “Hey guys, we’re fans of Friends and all but seriously, don’t push your luck. $1000 for membership to a singular cafe which has not even opened?”
Several others commented that a $1000 membership fee was only worth it if they actually got to meet the cast of Friends.
The founder of the themed cafe, Lim Jit Min, explained that the membership fee has been launched as part of a crowd-funding exercise.
“It was intended to identify our core fans,” he told Today. “We have some exciting plans in store. Casual fans and the general public can still visit like it is a normal cafe.”
But the self-proclaimed Friends superfan, who quit his job in recruitment to fulfil his dream of opening up his very own Central Perk cafe, said that several people have already signed up.
“We will not be lowering the membership fee. It wouldn’t be fair to those who have purchased it,” he added.
The new cafe, which is due to open its doors in Singapore’s Central Mall on November 24, has been creating plenty of social media buzz since the news first broke in June. It is set to feature all kinds of Friends memorabilia, including a completely recreated Central Perk set.
The set of Central Perk in Friends" (Photo by Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)Source:Getty Images
A pop-up replica of the iconic cafe opened in New York in 2014 and attracted almost 50,000 Friends lovers. Hyde Park in Sydney’s CBD hosted a variation for two weeks in October 2015, while a #FriendsFest — a whole festival dedicated to the show — found its way to London last year.
The beloved US sitcom aired its 10th and final season in 2004, but re-runs of Friends continue to stream on Netflix.
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