Warner Bros. will open a recreation of Central Perk, the coffee shop from the television sitcom Friends, as a pop-up at the glass-wrapped corner of 701 Seventh Ave. in Times Square, property marketers announced Sunday.
The curved, ground-floor space at 20 Times Square, on the corner of West 47th Street next to the Edition Times Square Hotel, has been vacant since the building opened eight years ago despite being in one of the world’s most heavily trafficked locations. Cushman & Wakefield, which was retained to market the property’s roughly 49,000 square feet of retail space, said the Central Perk installation will offer a “unique immersive retail and cafe experience.”
Cushman and the building’s asset managers, GreenBarn Investment Group and Newbond Holdings, said the Warner Bros. pop-up is intended to draw attention to the site’s potential for longer-term tenants. Steven Soutendijk of Cushman called the location “a one-of-a-kind opportunity for global brands looking to make a statement in the entertainment and retail capital of the world.” He said the firm hopes to “secure one or more long-term tenants for the entirety of 49,000 square feet of space.”
Retailers and food operators have largely bypassed the corner in part because of its unusual rounded shape and because it was frequently obscured by a cluster of large hot dog stands, brokers said. The building does include a major tenant: a four-story Hershey’s store occupies a portion of the property, but much of the remaining retail space on the second through fourth floors and in the basement has been empty since the NFL Experience attraction closed in 2018.
The prolonged vacancies have had financial consequences. Former owner Maefield saw a significant loss of rent revenue that contributed to the property being lost in foreclosure, according to public records and people familiar with the matter.
The Central Perk pop-up follows a broader pattern of entertainment and consumer brands deploying temporary, experiential retail to draw visitors and generate publicity in high-profile locations. Cushman and the building’s managers described the Friends-themed cafe as a marketing vehicle aimed at showcasing how the corner can be activated and adapted for different operators.
The announcement did not include a public opening date or details on how long the Central Perk installation will remain at 701 Seventh Ave. Representatives for Warner Bros., GreenBarn Investment Group and Newbond Holdings did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment. Further leasing plans for the building will be announced as negotiations with potential tenants progress.
Times Square’s retail market has long attracted both global flagships and short-term entertainment-driven activations; market watchers say the success of the Central Perk pop-up could influence interest in the remaining vacant floors of 20 Times Square. The building’s prominent corner, however, will face the same logistical challenges that discouraged some operators in the past, including its geometry and the dense street vendor environment that can limit visibility at sidewalk level.
For now, the Friends installation represents a visible effort to change perceptions about the site, and to convert an eight-year vacancy into consumer foot traffic that managers hope will lead to longer-term commitments from retail and food brands.
