Sandwich shop got Liam Neeson to eat there with clever A-board message

Can you believe it’s almost a decade since a Canadian sandwich institution managed to make a customer out of legendary Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson with a simple, six-word sign?

The 73-year-old, who most recently starred in last year’s Naked Gun reboot and Cold Storage with Stranger Things’ Joe Keery, has not shied away from detailing his favourite foods in the past.

In an interview with the Irish Independent, it was revealed that he enjoys tucking into champ and black pudding with wheaten scones when staying in Belfast.

And when he’s at home? He seemingly loves digging into a rhubarb crumble or a pack of dark chocolate at 2.30am, according to a 2022 chat with Parade.

Apparently, the star is also a sucker for food when it’s free, as we learned back in May 2017.

Matt Pruim, manager of Big Star Sandwich Company in Vancouver, was a Nesson ‘super-fan’ who was allegedly aware that the Taken star was in the area filming Cold Pursuit with Laura Dern and Tom Bateman.

In an effort to convince his hero to drop in, the employee made over the offical street-side sandwich board with a six-word promise.

The sign read: “Liam Neeson eats here for free,” in all capital letters.

“Come in and get Taken away by our sandwiches,” was written in chalk on the other side.

At 11am, the shot-in-the-dark board was shared across Instagram.

And by 6.30pm that evening, Neeson surprised everyone by strolling into the shop to claim his prize, spokesperson and former director of operations at Big Star, Alex Johrden told TODAY.

“We absolutely did not think he’d actually show up.

“We’re not sure how he saw the sign. We assume he heard it through the production crew, who had been in and out all day.”

The BBC reported that the father-of-two used lines from Taken to collect his free meal, but that he had to leave before he could get his hands on a sandwich.

"He was wrangled back to set pretty quickly,” Johrden said.

He added to BuzzFeed Canada: “We’re hoping he comes back in to take us up on the offer.”

Still, he had time to snap a picture with the Big Star Sandwich Co. staff and the sandwich board that successfully lured him in.

“As you can see in the photo, they're about as stoked as they've ever been in their lives.”

The business also named a sandwich after him, The Neeson, which featured

slices of 13-hour slow-roasted beef sandwiched in a filone with bacon, habanero and Monterey jack cheese, fresh lettuce, tomato, onions, chipotle mayo and barbecue sauce.

Hickory Sticks, a type of Canadian potato chip, were placed on top.

Neeson’s upcoming film, 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, is slated for release in the United States this August.

Following the Amazon MGM Studios flick, the icon will appear in Run All Night 2, Hotel Tehran, and The Riker’s Ghost.