12-Oct-20 – Tempo Cafe, the all-night diner at North State & East Chestnut, serves just about anything a hungry man may desire. But they don’t serve biscuits and gravy.

And that, it seems, was a problem for Patrick White, who is now facing a felony gun charge in connection with an incident that allegedly started when Tempo staffers told him they don’t serve the rib-sticking Southern breakfast staple.

Chicago police were called to the restaurant after a man became belligerent and started demanding biscuits and gravy from the waitstaff at around 7:00 a.m. on October 2. When they informed him that they don’t serve the dish, he walked across the street and started yelling at passersby, prosecutors said.

The man returned to the restaurant and started demanding biscuits and gravy again. Hoping to win him over with an alternate meal, the staff provided the man with a copy of their expansive menu, which includes virtually every breakfast option under the sun, including no fewer than 29 listed varieties of five-egg omelets. But not biscuits and gravy.

As the man sat down to review the possibilities, a restaurant worker saw the butt of a handgun sticking out of his pocket, prosecutors said. The man was asked to leave the restaurant. He complied, and police arrived moments later.

Restaurant employees explained what had happened and pointed police toward White (left), who was about a block away. Officers found a loaded handgun in White’s pocket during a pat-down search, according to a CPD report.

Prosecutors charged White, age 34, with felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. They said he has a license to own a firearm in Indiana but he’s not licensed to own or carry a gun in Illinois.

Circuit Judge Arthur Willis set bail at $5,000. White went home by posting a $500 deposit bond.