A well-known Pittsburgh sandwich store is now facing calls for a boycott after it turned vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance away from its doors.
On Saturday afternoon, Senator Vance tried to make a campaign stop at Primanti Bros in North Versailles, but he was rebuffed by staff who said they had not been given advanced notice.
Store bosses did so even as multiple paying customers inside the store asked for Vance to be allowed inside so they could chat with him.
A restaurant worker informed the press that cameras were not allowed inside and that they did not want a ‘campaign event.’
After being denied entry, Vance reportedly ended up speaking with people in the parking lot outside.
But the Vance supporters who filled Primanti Bros were furious with the way the restaurant had treated the vice presidential candidate.
Footage taken inside the 90-year-old business showed many of Vance’s supporters apparently calling for a boycott.
In one video, a woman said that a manager had told the senator and his team that they would ‘call the police if [Vance] comes out [of his car].’
‘The kitchen crew’s running out because everyone’s cancelling their orders,’ she said.
The video showed frustrated supporters standing with their arms crossed.
‘We’re just paying for what we drink and then everyone’s leaving,’ the woman said.
‘Unfortunately, Vance cannot come out of his car, cannot shake our hands because Primanti Brothers does not want him in here.’
Vance supporters can then be seen swarming the restaurant’s doors, eager to leave.
Another Vance supporter filmed herself leaving the sandwich shop because of the way it treated the vice presidential candidate.
‘So we are here at Primanti Brothers…to see JD Vance and Promantis hates money,’ she yelled.
The irate Vance supporter then said that the restaurant lost about ‘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.’
In a statement posted on social media, Primanti Bros said that the situation was later resolved.
‘Without any advance notice, today’s campaign stop caused some momentary confusion for our staff,’ they wrote.
‘However, Senator Vance and his team were welcomed into our restaurant shortly after and engaged with our guests inside and on the property.’
Before Vance left, he addressed his supporters in the parking lot and made it clear he bore no ill will toward the sandwich shop.
‘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.
‘We went in there. We paid for everybody’s food. We gave them a nice tip,’ he said, before adding: ‘And of course when I gave them a nice tip I said “no taxes on top.”‘
Vance then tried to pacify his outraged supporters.
‘It’s alright. Don’t hold it against her. She just got a little nervous.
‘But it’s a great local business. Keep on supporting it. And most importantly, on November 5th go vote. Let’s go win this thing.’