Ryan Gosling hasn’t forgotten his Canadian roots. Joelle Murray, the owner of Grinder Coffee in Toronto’s east end, began a campaign to get the Blue Valentine star in her establishment during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) where the actor was busy promoting his latest movie, First Man, and it worked!
Joelle Murray announced her campaign to get Gosling to visit her business on Saturday, September 1, and began tagging the Canada native on Twitter. “Good news we are back on twitter cause Monday begins our #ryanneedsgrinder,” she tweeted that day along with a cardboard cutout of the Oscar nominee. “Come have coffee with us @RyanGosling while you are in town for #TIFF2018.”
Last year Murray had campaigned to have Idris Elba visit her cafe, but the Avengers: Infinity War actor never made it in. Still, she wasn’t deterred, and decided to pursue Gosling this year. Her campaign picked up steam in the following days thanks to a series of funny updates, including a list of reasons why the actor should stop by Grinder for a cup of joe.
The local business owner even had some early support from Toronto mayor John Tory and other residents eager to catch a glimpse of the Hollywood star, but when TIFF formally began on Thursday, September 6, there was still no sign of Gosling.
Even the mayor is behind you having coffee with us @RyanGosling . @TIFF_NET #leslieville #ryanneedsgrinder https://t.co/PO1tgMOKFR
— GrinderCoffeeGerrard (@GrinderCoffeeTO) September 2, 2018
However, the tides began to turn on Monday, September 10, when Gosling was spotted in the Canadian city. “Looks like our man is in town and ready for some coffee,” the Grinder Twitter account shared. “Just to let you know #ryangosling we pay for half your Uber ride.”
Though it’s unclear exactly how Gosling got wind of Grinder’s days-long quest to get him to stop by, he showed up at the coffee shop on Tuesday, September 11, much to Murray’s delight. “And this happened… #ryanneedsgrinder worked. The man himself showed up,” the Grinder Twitter account shared, along with the above photo of Murray embracing Gosling. “What a good sport, a well brought up Canadian boy. We truly appreciate Ryan taking the time the time to visit us during #tiff.”
“Take that @idriselba your loss,” the post continued.
Murray told Canoe.com that Gosling stayed at Grinder for about two minutes to greet her and a few patrons. “He made it seem that he enjoyed meeting me as much as I enjoyed meeting him,” she said. “And it was a lovely feeling. He was very well-spoken, a wonderful Canadian boy with very good manners.”
