The early bird gets the worm, but in the case of a restaurant manager on State Street, he got a burglar.

Around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, the manager of Kabul Restaurant at 540 State St. caught 46-year-old Calvin D. Noblin attempting to steal liquor.

While Noblin managed to leave the restaurant, the manager alerted Madison Police Department of his movements and began to follow him at a safe distance, according to a MPD incident report.

The culprit was intercepted by responding officers at the Buckeye Lot at 214 W. Gorham St.

At the moment, Noblin has no permanent address in Madison, as he said he had just arrived from Milwaukee, MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain said. He appeared to have had other stolen items, like a debit card, in his possession.

The manager was grateful for MPD’s efforts and insisted the responding officer eat some fresh pita breads and eggs, DeSpain said. The officer reported the food was great and made sure to leave a “hefty” tip underneath the plate, DeSpain added.