How a huge Hollywood talent became a local at this NJ coffee shop

It’s always cool and a little bit surreal when you come across a famous person when you least expect it. When I lived in LA, I saw Whoopi Goldberg driving past me and Laurie Metcalf waiting for someone outside of a movie theater in Glendale, just to name a few.

It’s a cool pop-up surprise. But how much cooler is it when the famous person starts coming into your shop so often that they become a regular? That’s exactly what briefly happened at a little coffee shop in Cape May the last few months.

At this point, I’m sure the staff at Coffee Tyme is on a first-name basis with him and just calls out, “‘Morning, Ed!“

No, it’s not Ed Harris. Nor is it at Ed Begley Jr. No, Ed Sheeran hasn’t been stopping by frequently for coffee either.

The amazingly talented Edward Norton is the one who became a regular there. From “Fight Club” to “The Grand Budapest Hotel” to “American History X” there’s no role this star can’t play. He’s played the mild-mannered and unassuming to the intellectual to the dark and sinister.

Here’s how he became a regular at Coffee Tyme.

A biopic called “A Complete Unknown” starring Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan has been filming in various parts of New Jersey since March. Well Edward Norton was cast as folk singer Pete Seegar.

A big part of the movie centers on the 1965 Newport Folk Festival where Dylan shocked his fans by playing an electric guitar for the first time in public to his song “Like A Rolling Stone.” This was considered almost sacrilege to many in the folk community at the time.

So having done a lot of days filming in Cape May and trying to meet the demands of long hours he quickly was paying near daily visits to Coffee Tyme. The staff got to know him. Fans were surprised to find him there. He often took time to talk and pose for photos.

His go to order according to staff? Three shots of espresso. Hey if you have a regular you learn their go to order pretty quickly.

There are actually two Coffee Tymes in Cape May. He was at the one at 414 Washington. But don’t expect to catch a glimpse of him there now. Looks like the filming schedule for the Cape May portion was supposed to wrap up on May 16. There’s no set release date yet for “A Complete Unknown” but sure is it should be early 2025.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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