Primanti Bros., a Pittsburgh-based sandwich shop chain, defended itself Saturday against claims it banned Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican, from a location, saying it welcomed the vice presidential candidate following some “confusion” by staff.
Supporters of Vance accused the manager of the chain’s North Versailles, Pa. location of threatening to call the police and ban the lawmaker from the store after he pulled up to it. Sean Logue, chairman of the Republican committee for nearby Washington County, shared footage on social media showing the senator claiming the manager was “a little nervous.”
“I think what happened is she just freaked out a little bit because there were a lot of people, and she didn’t wanna make her restaurant part of a campaign stop,” he said.
Logue accused Primanti Bros. of threatening to ban Vance while welcoming Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, at another location in August.
“She came and did a photo op, and they let her do that, but this Primanti Bros. has banned JD Vance,” he said.
The restaurant chain denied Logue’s sentiment.
“Without any advance notice, today’s campaign stop caused some momentary confusion for our staff,” Primanti Bros. said in a statement. “However, Senator Vance and his team were welcomed into our restaurant shortly after and engaged with our guests inside and on the property.”
“Primanti’s prides itself on being a staple of the Pittsburgh community and a proud American business that has hosted sitting presidents, politicians, and political candidates from across the spectrum for over 90 years,” the statement continued. “Our doors are open to all patrons who wish to dine with us.”
Vance added that he eventually entered the restaurant, which had supporters of his inside, and paid for everybody’s food. Logue said the lawmaker went in against Primanti Bros.’s wishes.
“He was banned. The manager banned him, and she called her supervisors, and the supervisors banned him as well,” Logue claimed.
The Harris campaign mocked the situation via X Sunday, writing “nothing beats a stop at Primanti Bros.” alongside footage of the vice president visiting a location.
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