odd phrase/translation exercise

HEre in the US there is a submarine sandwich chain called "Quizno's",
with an Italian theme, known for toasting its sandwiches.

On the wall in every one of its locations I've seen, there are several
painted-on posters. One of them is a cartoony painting of a waiter
looking back at you with a caption that says "Non sapevo che tu fossi
filosofo".  This is Italian for "I didn't know that you were a
philosopher".

It sounds like a typical waiter snarky comeback to a patron, but I was
wondering if that particular phrase or picture had any significance
anyone knew about?  Some reference I'm missing?

I also thought it'd make a good translation exercise, especially for a
romlang. :)

-Marcos

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