It's certainly a good year to be a Friends superfan. With Sept. 22 marking the 25th anniversary of the pilot episode airing in 1994, throwback merchandise, pop-ups, and events are in full swing, waking up a fandom that — thanks to Netflix — never truly had a chance to sleep. The latest in the celebrations are a little closer to home, though, with a new neon Central Perk sign from Friends that you can buy right now on Firebox, effectively turning your bedroom into Gunther's second home.
Per Firebox, this riff off of the iconic Central Perk signage is the perfect size for a small apartment space, measuring about 15 inches across. You can prop it on a desk or hang it on the wall, depending on how much preexisting Friends merch you have to push to the side to make room for it. Firebox notes that it's a neon effect light, rather than made with actual neon (safety first, y'all), and that it can be powered by batteries or by USB. Plus, at a price point of $31.99, it's surprisingly affordable compared to some of the Friends memorabilia making the rounds online.
Having this sign is all well and good of course, but what happens after it's raring to go? "Wait for a group of cool twenty-somethings with seemingly endless time on their hands to sit around quaffing coffee in the middle of the day to take a shine to your new set up," Firebox advises. "Eventually one of their old school friends will jilt her husband and be in desperate need for employment. Hire her as a waitress."
Done, done, and done.
Now that you've Central Perk-ified your space with your very own sign, you have an equally important task at hand: Making sure you have the supplies to meet the coffee demand. Thankfully, the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Friends also led to the creation and release of an entire Central Perk coffee and tea line you can stock your shelves with. In July, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf released not only an entire in-store menu of drinks based on the iconic members of the Friends gang, but actual bags of Central Perk Medium Roast, Central Perk Dark Roast, and Central Perk Tea, which fans can purchase online. (It also comes in K-Cup form, which is decidedly less '90s, but still convenient as heck.)
Once you finish serving all your new customers, you'll probably want a night on the town to decompress. Luckily, you have a pretty thematically appropriate option — Fathom Events is hosting Friends nights in movie theaters all over the country on Sept. 23, Sept. 28, and Oct. 2, with viewings of four episodes each night. You can check to see if one of the events is being held in your area on Fathom Events' website, which also lists all of the episodes that will be airing in advance. In case you already had plans, it's time to tell your squad to PIVOT. (Sorry. Couldn't resist.)
