Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) was denied entry to a restaurant outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that he described as being a “great local business.”
In a post on X, NBC News reporter Gary Grumbach wrote that the press was told by a restaurant worker at the Primanti Bros. Restaurant and Sports Bar located in North Versailles that “cameras were not allowed,” adding that the restaurant “did not want a ‘campaign event.'”
The restaurant chain, which has locations throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland, is known for its sandwiches.
In another video posted to X, Vance was seen outside the restaurant talking to a crowd of people and telling them to “keep” supporting the restaurant, and encouraging them to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
“We paid for everybody’s food, we gave them a nice tip,” Vance explained. “And, of course when I gave them a nice tip, I said, ‘No taxes on tips.” Don’t hold it against her, she just got a little nervous. But, it’s a great local business, let’s keep on supporting it, and most importantly, November 5th, or before, go vote. Let’s go win this thing.”
Adam Golomb, the CEO of Primanti Bros. explained in a statement to TribLive, that the restaurant had reportedly not received “any advance notice,” which led to “momentary confusion.”
“Without any advance notice, today’s campaign stop caused some momentary confusion for our staff,” Golomb 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.”
This comes after there were claims that customers at a Primanti Bros. location in Moon, Pennsylvania, were reportedly told to leave prior to Vice President Kamala Harris and her vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), arriving for a campaign event, according to Fox News.
