Central Perk: from Hollywood set to Beijing

It is 10 o'clock in the morning. A young man with a warm smile opens the timeworn wooden door to his coffee shop, right on time. A 20-something year old waitress is busy learning how to make her first cup of cappuccino. She says hello to customers and tells them her name is Rachel. On the glass window is scrawled the name: Central Perk.

Sounds familiar?

Owner Du Xin, who calls himself Gunther after the show's café manager, in his coffee shop.

The iconic coffee shop of the classic American sitcom Friends can now be found – not in New York, not in a Hollywood studio – but in downtown Beijing. The replica is the completely self-funded project of Du Xin, who first watched the show when it ended in 2004.

All for friendship

Du began watching the show on a friend's recommendation after his girlfriend broke up with him. "I fell in love with the six friends' life and stepped out of loneliness," he said. "As true fans know, the show is more than about just making people laugh. It shows people the existence of happiness and friendship."

After four years in the Netherlands to earn his MBA and work, Du returned to Beijing to begin his own business. But Friends was still firmly on his mind. He looked for a coffee shop like Central Perk where he could hang out with friends, but failed. So he decided to open one himself. With passion instead of market research, he began his project in November 2009.

With a limited budget, Du set out to find a suitable decoration team to reproduce the original set. He made scene captures from the show and collected pictures from Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. Every piece of furniture in his coffee shop is customized.

"I said, ‘I love Friends' to myself during the decorating every day," Du said. "I believed I was the only person who could finish this. I had never been more confident."

Du, who calls himself Gunther after the show's Central Perk manager, worked with his team of workers from 9 am to midnight for five months. The coffee shop opened on March 28.

Dream comes true

Central Perk had very few customers the first month. Du would be pleased if he sold one cup of coffee a day. After spending so much time on decorating his shop, he put little effort into publicizing it. But his fortunes changed on Labor Day.

It was a hot and quiet holiday. Du had gone out for more supplies. When he returned, he heard a buzz around the corner.

"I felt my heart beat so fast for the first time in my life," Du said.

It was a group of students from Peking University, standing at the door. One of them had visited before and talked with Du. He had written an article about the coffee shop and posted it to the campus bulletin. Soon after, word spread through online blogs and forums about "China's Central Perk."

Pictures drawn by customers.

Now Du is so busy that he hardly has time for improvements. Still, he knows his work is not finished. Next month, he plans to recruit a "Phoebe," one of the show's main characters who often performed self-composed guitar songs at the coffee shop. He is also unsatisfied with the orange sofa, the set's centerpiece.

"I'll never stop perfecting it," Du said. "I believe next March, when my café celebrates its first birthday, you'll see a different Central Perk. It will be a real home, just without a bed." Du funds his coffee shop through profits from his supermarket next door, which opened at the same time. In addition to in-person shopping, customers can order items by phone and have them delivered. Du also plans to open more stores in office buildings around the city.

"The store is reality and Central Perk is a dream," Du said. "There is only a wall between the two. A lot of people give up their dreams and say they must do something they don't like to make a living. Actually, dreams are not as difficult to realize as they seem."

 "My dream is to create a room for (people) to open up and enjoy themselves without any masks," he said. "I hope it can be the fourth place where people feel safe, after their homes, schools and workplaces."

Central Perk is located in Chaowai SOHO at 6 Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Building A, Suite 0616. Those interested in becoming the next Phoebe must perform two songs from the show and an original song with a guitar.