But when we met up there last Saturday we were seated at a table, and the friendly young waitress who came to take our order was new. Kelley appeared to be caught off guard. “They know what I want,” he said, suggesting the waitress consult with the restaurant manager.
For a moment, Cliff Kelley wasn’t sure how to order his food.
Kelley, the popular talk show host on WVON radio, usually sits at the end of the counter when he visits his favorite breakfast spot, Ms Biscuit, a bustling south-side diner. The ritual goes like this: Kelley catches up with some of the other regulars and opens his paper, and within minutes a plate appears.
Kelley has been one of the great characters in local politics and media for four decades. He served as alderman of the south-side 20th Ward for 16 years starting in 1971, advocating for racial equality, an elected school board, and—long before it was part of the political mainstream—gay rights. But in 1986 he was accused of taking bribes and eventually pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud and failure to file tax returns.
He’s been eating regularly at Ms Biscuit for five years. It’s just a few blocks from his home, and he loves the food, the clientele—which includes professionals, families, cops, and construction workers—and especially the management, starting with owner Dylan Reeves. “I was sitting in my regular seat here one time and he intercepts a young man walking in. He tells the gentleman, ‘Pardon me, but my customers come here to eat breakfast, not to see the crack of your ass and your dirty drawers.’ So the guy tries to pull them up and he says, ‘No, I don’t want your business. I’ll be glad to serve you when you come in and you respect my customers and my establishment.’”
