In May 2017, the manager of Big Star Sandwich Co. in New Westminster, part of the Greater Vancouver area, found out that Liam Neeson was in town filming a movie nearby. (The film was Hard Powder, later released as Cold Pursuit). So, the shop did what any business hoping for a little attention might do: it put up a chalkboard sign out front reading “Liam Neeson eats here for free.” The other side, according to TMZ, played on his most famous role: “Come in and Get Taken by Our Sandwiches.”
It was a joke. Nobody actually expected it to work.
A few hours later, Neeson actually showed up.
Neeson walked into the shop, slipped into character with what the staff described as his most intimidating voice, and delivered the line they’d been hoping for without daring to expect: “Where is my free sandwich?”
The staff was reportedly speechless. The shop captured the moment with a photo of Neeson alongside two employees and posted it to its Instagram and X with a fittingly stunned caption: “Holy f**k, it worked!”
HuffPost reported that the shop’s director of operations, Alex Johrden, confirmed they never thought he’d show. “We absolutely did not think he’d actually show up,” he said. As for how Neeson found out about the sign, Johrden could only guess: “We assume he heard it through the production crew, who had been in and out all day.”
Neeson, who was 64 at the time, didn’t actually stay to eat. He posed for photos with the staff and took off, presumably back to set. But the shop wasn’t done milking the moment. They created a new feature sandwich in his honor, dubbed “The Neeson,” which they described on Instagram as having “lots of beef, a one-two-punch of bacon and hickory sticks, and spice that’ll get revenge on you tomorrow!” The revenge theme was, of course, very much on brand.
The staff hoped Neeson would return to try the sandwich named after him. “We’re hoping he comes back in to take us up on the offer,” Johrden said, according to HuffPo.
The commenters online ate it up, so to speak.
“I have to love a star who is also a real person,” one wrote.
Another said, “I love it when stars are as cool as you want them to be! Bravo, Liam Neeson!”
A third summed it up: “That made their day, and Liam was nice to drop by.”
All things considered, not a bad return on a chalkboard sign and a willingness to look a little foolish.
