The Real Jerk owner initially reluctant about Drake, Rihanna Work video

A Toronto restaurant is getting international attentionafter being prominently featured in one of Rihanna's two new musicvideos for "Work" with Drake -- a film shoot the co-owner admits hewas initially reluctant to agree to.

Edward Pottinger, who co-owns the Caribbean eatery the Real Jerkwith wife Lilly, says the video's creators called him about twoweeks ago on a Monday asking if they could shoot there for about 24hours on the Friday of that same week.

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Friday is one of the busiest days for the Real Jerk andPottinger, who was in his native Jamaica at the time, wanted to makesure his customers came first.

"They had to convince me to do it, because I don't really giveup a regular restaurant night to shoot movies or video clips," saysPottinger.

"I value my customers, who come from all over.... They come fromfar away, so when they come and see a closed restaurant, it's notreally nice for them."

But the "Work" team assured him they would feature therestaurant's trademark sign, with its backsplash of Pan-Africancolours and a smiling sun.

"I realized how powerful it would be to have the name associatedwith us," says Pottinger.

"Realizing it was the No. 1 male and female rapper/pop stars inthe world, it was, 'OK, let's do this thing."'

The video, which came out Monday along with a much racieralternate version, surpassed Pottinger's expectations.

The Real Jerk sign is featured in the very first frame of thevideo as Rihanna, clad in a pink fur coat, gets out of a slick caralong with Drake.

The song's pulsating beats slowly kick in as they strut into theReal Jerk, where Rihanna and Drake join a smoky dancehall party.

Thevideo features shots of food from the restaurant and Lilly makes anappearance flipping jerk chicken and dancing in the kitchen.

"I was really blown away by it," says Pottinger, who thoughtthe Real Jerk sign would just be seen for a brief moment at the endof the video.

"Drake always builds up Toronto and supports Toronto and this isa fine example."

Pottinger says Toronto-bred Drake and the video's homegrowncreator, Director X (who also produced Drake's "Hotline Bling"),had eaten at the restaurant before.

Ironically, while the Real Jerk's food is seen in the video, itdidn't actually cater the video shoot much to the disappointmentof Drake.

"When he came he was actually a little disappointed that wedidn't have food for him," says Pottinger. "But we did accommodateand we made some roti."

Fans gathered outside, posting photos and video to social media,as the shoot went all night and into the wee hours of the morning.

"They work really hard," says Pottinger. "All the dancers, allthe production crew, Drake, Rihanna, they were there for 24 hours,from beginning until end."

The Real Jerk, which first opened over 30 years ago, is known forits jerk dishes, its rotiand stocks 60 to 70 varieties of rum.

Pottinger says they've received many emails, phone calls andinterview requests since the video came out.

They've had movies and documentaries shot in the restaurantbefore "but nothing of this magnitude," he says.

"We don't just sell food, we sell culture, and I'm very happy toshare our culture of the Caribbean."