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Kevin Smith is paying homage to a former shop owner.
30 years ago, the actor, 55, debuted his feature film, the 1994 comedy “Clerks.” The movie follows Dante (Brian O’Halloran), who is working at a New Jersey convenience store on his day off, and his best friend Randal (Jeff Anderson), who leaves his position at the video store next door to keep him company.
However, the pals soon get news that one of Dante’s ex-girlfriends has died.
The world also met two New Jersey staples, the characters Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith), in the project.
Smith pulled from his own real-life experiences of working at the exact Quick-Stop and video store featured in the film. Both places were owned by Tarlochen Thapar. The small business owner died on Friday at age 90.
On Monday, Smith took to Instagram to pen a touching tribute.
“Tarlochen Thapar, the owner of @quickstopgroceries, has passed away,” he shared. “Thapar came to America from India in the 60’s/70’s, working tirelessly until he could afford a small business in Leonardo, NJ: a video shop beside a Cumberland Farms.”
Smith explained that when “Cumberland closed in the early 90’s, his little video biz lost its anchor.”
But Thapar never gave up, and instead, he “convinced Cumberland Farms to let him take the store over instead, renaming it @quickstopgroceries.”
“Mister Thapar hired me in 1989, both of us sitting on tiny step stools behind the counter of RST Video. Working at a video store was my dream job, but it came with a cost: I had to also work at the convenience store next door, which also belonged to the Thapars. Thank God for that caveat, because it changed my life,” Smith continued.
A few years later, the director was able to use the grocery store and video shop to make magic.
“In 1993, Thapar let me shoot my first film in #QuickStop at night when it was closed. So without Mister Thapar, there’d be no ‘Clerks’ (which @variety just included in their 100 Funniest Comedies list). Because this sweet soul from a world away came to America, *my* American Dream came true,” Smith recalled. “‘Schoolhouse Rock’ taught me about The Great American Melting Pot in song, but Thapar showed me the beauty of the concept in real life: America brought us together, and what a tasty meal we made!”
The actor concluded his post with a special message for the late businessman.
“I’ll miss you, Mister Thapar. Thank you for making your lifelong journey to Jersey – because this Jersey Boy (and anybody who ever enjoyed his black & white convenience store comedy) [benefited] big time from your bravery. I still remember our 1991 conversation about reincarnation and I hope you were right, Boss – because that means I might see you again one day. And when we do, we’ll sit on tiny stools and talk movies… ❤️.”
Mewes, 51, commented on the post, writing, “😢 RIP Mr. Thapar 🕊️.”
The sequel “Clerks II” came out in 2006, with the third installment, “Clerks 3” debuting in 2022.
“After suffering a massive heart attack, Randal enlists friends and fellow clerks Dante, Elias, Jay, and Silent Bob to help him produce a movie about everyday life at the Quick Stop,” the synopsis reads.
Once again, Smith pulled from his real-life, having had suffered his own heart attack in 2018.
This film is “definitely based on my life,” Smith told The Post at the time. “I gave the characters big parts of me that make it more authentic.”
In 2018, Smith tweeted from the hospital after his massive heart attack.
“As much as I used to go for the laughs, later in life I’m all about the feels,” he said. “If you can send people home with a new attitude, with a new thought — ‘no day is promised; all the s–t that I’ve been putting off, I’m gonna start right now’ — then I’ve done my job.”
Smith also reflected on his hopes for this stage of his career.
“Three decades into a career, if you’re not doing it just to make people f–kin’ feel, just to, like, rip open their hearts and bring them to life, then you’re just doing it for the money at that point. Lord knows, if you were going to do anything for money, you would not make a ‘Clerks 3.’”
Smith went on to acknowledge he’s come a long way from that original ’90s film.
“The first ‘Clerks’ is dripping with authenticity,” he said. “It was made by a kid who literally worked in that store, and when he turned the camera off he was ringing people up. It was boots on the ground retail experience. I can’t give you that anymore. Now I own the businesses — I’ve owned a comic book store in Red Bank for 25 years, and I just bought a movie theater in Atlantic Highlands, the one I grew up going to.”