The renowned sandwich chain, Primanti Bros., headquartered in Pittsburgh, is currently grappling with calls for a boycott.
This backlash comes in the wake of the abrupt cancellation of a campaign event for Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, which was scheduled to take place at one of its locations. Vance's team had previously coordinated with the North Versailles store for the candidate to deliver a speech on Saturday, an arrangement that was initially accepted by the sandwich shop.
However, when the day arrived, Vance was reportedly denied entry by the staff, who claimed they had not been informed about the event beforehand. Despite the presence of customers who were eager to meet Vance, he was forced to interact with his supporters in the parking lot.
As reported by The Post Millennial, footage from within the restaurant revealed a number of Vances supporters expressing their disapproval of the stores decision, with some even advocating for a boycott. One video featured a woman alleging that the store's manager threatened to "call the police if [Vance] comes out [of his car]," as per a report from the Daily Mail. "The kitchen crew's running out because everyone's canceling their orders, the woman asserted, adding that supporters departed after only settling their bills for drinks.
Another supporter, visibly upset by the treatment of Vance, recorded a video while exiting the restaurant. So we are here at Primanti Brothers...to see JD Vance and Primanti's hates money, she expressed. The woman further claimed that the store forfeited approximately two grand worth of money because they said if Vance gets out of the vehicle that he's in...then they will call the police. The campaign confirmed to The Post Millennial that Vance covered the bill for everyone present in the restaurant.
In an attempt to clarify the situation, Primanti Bros. released a statement on social media, attributing the confusion to a lack of prior notice about the event.
Without any advance notice, today's campaign stop caused some momentary confusion for our staff, the company stated. However, Senator Vance and his team were welcomed into our restaurant shortly after and engaged with our guests inside and on the property.
Vance, who addressed the incident in the parking lot, opted for a diplomatic approach and refrained from criticizing the restaurant. 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, he explained. He further revealed that his team paid for the meals of those inside and left a generous tip. It's a great local business. Keep on supporting it. And most importantly, on November 5th go vote. Let's go win this thing, he urged, emphasizing the importance of supporting local businesses and exercising the right to vote.
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