PASADENA >> Authorities continue to look for a man who threw what was described as a “homemade pyrotechnic device” containing gunpowder into a Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Old Pasadena on Thursday.

Pasadena police Lt. Art Chute said the device exploded but no one was injured in the incident, which happened just after 6 p.m. at the restaurant at 2 W. Colorado Blvd.

The incident garnered national attention, social media speculation and was a top trend on Google. On Friday, officials sought to put the incident in perspective while offering some details about what transpired.

The incident didn’t warrant a briefing for Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek, which he considered an indication of how minor the incident was on the city’s radar.

“In the great array of things happening in Pasadena, this is not a huge one,” he said. “It was sort of business as usual this morning.”

Tornek said he was driving by the Cheesecake Factory on Thursday after leaving dinner and saw the police cordoning off the area. He said the device was “more related to a firecracker than a bomb.”

“They’ll investigate this thoroughly, because it was a disruptive thing,” he said. “But it shouldn’t get blown out of proportion.”

Still, he said the police department is not taking the matter lightly as someone purposefully tossing even a firework into a crowded restaurant cannot be considered benign.

Officers evacuated customers and employees following the small explosion. Police also called in the Los Angeles County sheriff’s bomb squad, which examined the exploded device and took it away, according to police Lt. Mark Goodman.

Goodman said it was not a pipe bomb, not a Molotov cocktail, had no projectiles, no shrapnel and nothing was ejected.

Police don’t know why the man picked that location. The motive behind the incident remains a mystery.

“It could be a dissatisfied customer, a disgruntled employee,” Goodman said, adding that police don’t know if the incident was terrorism-related.

The restaurant was crowded with diners when the man opened the front doors and tossed in the device. The man fled after throwing the device. No getaway car was seen.

Frank Valenzuela, general manager of the Cheesecake Factory, was working Thursday night when the man came into the restaurant and threw a ball-shaped object toward the bar.

He heard a loud “pop” and saw smoke, but not flames.

“There was a cloud of smoke, that was about it,” Valenzuela said.

Pasadena detectives are investigating the incident. Police said that out of an abundance of caution, federal authorities were notified. Citing the ongoing investigation, Goodman didn’t name the federal agencies.

No serious damage to the restaurant was visible inside on Friday. A faint smell of smoke lingered outside the building.

“There’s no damage, no damage to the facility and thankfully no one got hurt,” Valenzuela said. “We’re happy to be open for business.”

He believed media coverage made the incident sound more intense than what truly happened.

“Unfortunately, this is the world we live in,” he said.

Valenzuela said employees are in good spirits and the business opened to only a few less customers than usual, which he attributed to the rain and uncertainty caused by disruption.

Several tables were full at about noon Friday.

“I don’t think it’s going to affect our business,” he said.

Police said witnesses described the suspect as a Latino or Middle Eastern man, about 6 feet tall with a beard and of a thin build. The man wore all black clothing and a black beanie.

Anyone with information can reach Pasadena police at 626-744-4241. Tips also may be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

Staff writer Jason Henry contributed to this report.