Confusion and a brief moment of contention unfolded at Primanti Bros. in North Versailles when Sen. JD Vance, the Republican Vice Presidential Nominee, was initially denied entrance to the eatery. This misunderstanding has since sparked a social media flurry. According to a WPXI report, the occasion was not a planned stop. Yet, Sen. Vance and his team, who had called a couple of hours ahead to order lunch, were met with resistance from a manager at the restaurant, who allegedly went as far as to threaten to call the police.
The standoff quickly spread on social media, with onlookers sharing videos and accounts. Some thought Vance wouldn't be allowed entry, while others canceled orders in support. However, the situation ended peacefully—Vance mingled with supporters, went inside, paid the bill, and left a tip. Allegheny County Republican Chair Sam DeMarco told WPXI that the manager had overreacted.
According to CBS News, Primanti Bros. CEO Adam Golomb, in a statement, presented the incident as a mere case of the staff being caught off guard, noting that Sen. Vance was welcomed shortly after that and stating, "Senator Vance’s supportive comments that our manager got a little nervous given the secret service, police and crowd accurately reflect the nature of what occurred, but we are glad that it was resolved quickly."
Throughout this stir, Vance maintained a public position of generosity and understanding, echoing calls to support the local business, his words captured in video shared by Logue, "Look I think what happened is she [the manager] just freaked out a little bit because there were a lot of people and she didn't want to make her restaurant part of a campaign stop," Vance said, "It's alright, don't hold it against her, she just got a little nervous, it's a great local business, let's keep supporting it." Nonetheless, the GOP chair displayed ongoing dissatisfaction with how Primanti's handled the situation, calling for an apology, stating, "Nowhere in their statement is an apology, where's my apology Primanti Brothers." Logue revealed that Primanti had reached out to him, but he had not engaged with their calls, as detailed by CBS News.
