Matthew Perry fans are paying tribute to the late actor by flocking to the restaurant below the apartment block where ‘Friends’ was shot.
Since the Chandler Bing star died in his hot tub aged 54 on Saturday (28.10.23), West Village eaterie Little Owl has been packed.
A local told Page Six: “People have been coming to the location to show their respect and laying out flowers and candles. While they are there, they decide to stop for a bite.”
Another resident added: “A lot of tourists have especially been busy stopping by.
“The business is great for the establishment. I just hope it does not become a problem for me to get a table especially for brunch and dinner.”
It’s not the first time that the restaurant has been overrun with ‘Friends’ fans, and the establishment wasn’t always happy about the masses arriving at the famed building.
For the show’s 25th anniversary in 2019, hordes of the sitcom’s biggest followers descended on the Greenwich Village building that was “home” to the show’s characters, and ended up blocking the sidewalks in front of Little Owl as they snapped selfies and even defaced walls with tributes.
The restaurant’s owner said at the time: “I would say it’s hundreds of people… over the weekends, it’s closer to 1,000.”
Fans even had the cheek to ask the restaurant’s staff for Sharpies so they could scrawl tributes to the show over the apartment building above it.
Matthew was found underwater in the jacuzzi in the backyard of his $6 million ranch-style mansion in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, and despite being repositioned by a bystander, was found lifeless by emergency workers who were called to the scene.
It’s suspected he drowned, but it could be weeks before his official cause of death is decided as the medical examiner has asked for more time to probe the circumstances of Matthew’s death, which came after years of the actor struggling with drink and drug addictions.
