New Footage Appears To Show Moment J.D. Vance Was Kicked Out Of Popular Restaurant: 'No Cameras!'
Footage obtained by a C-SPAN reporter appears to provide a new angle on the controversy involving Pittsburgh culinary icon Primanti Brothers and Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance, who was told he would not be allowed in the building when he popped by to greet supporters on Saturday.
Vance travelled to the Primanti Brothers location in North Versailles, Pennsylvania on Saturday in order to meet with a large contingent of supporters who had gathered at the restaurant. Pittsburgh area attorney and Washington County Republican Party chairman Sean Logue, who was on the scene, explained that dozens of Trump supporters showed up at the restaurant and ordered food in anticipation of Vance’s arrival.
Logue reported that a manager “banned” Vance from the establishment and told supporters that they would need to leave. This claim was repeated by additional patrons in a follow-up video posted by the eyewitness.
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“J.D. Vance’s SUV pulls up, Secret Service comes into the restaurant, Secret Service guards the area between the SUV and the entrance to the restaurant. JD Vance, he gets out, and then the manager runs out and yells at him and says, ‘you can’t come in here,’” Logue said.
“So then, Vance has a guy from the Senator’s office who pulled her aside. She’s on the phone with corporate headquarters. Corporate headquarters tells her he’s not allowed in Primanti Brothers.”
Logue further explained that he immediately took out his camera and started filming because a news event was clearly taking place.
“Vance’s people then go and start negotiating with this manager who has him banned, all of us, we’re pissed off. I see that there’s an obvious news event, so I started filming right away because I don’t want the crime party and fake news to come out and say, ‘oh no, JD wasn’t really banned, it was just a miscommunication or it was just done for safety.’ No, he was banned,” he said.
I will now post all Primanti Brothers videos from today. They absolutely banned JD Vance from their restaurant. #PrimantiBros pic.twitter.com/SfPFzIcUdA
— Sean Logue (@SeanLogue18) September 28, 2024
#PrimantiBros video 2 pic.twitter.com/eSd2JrDRWX
— Sean Logue (@SeanLogue18) September 28, 2024
A new angle of the incident, which was obtained by a C-SPAN reporter, appears to show a furious Primanti Brothers manager at the moment of Vance’s arrival.
“No cameras, folks. No cameras. We’re not doing an event here,” the seemingly irate manager told reporters. “No cameras. We’re not doing an event here. I’ve explained this a bunch of times. Folks are welcome to come and have lunch, but we’re not having a campaign event here. I have explained this multiple times.”
Footage obtained by C-SPAN shows an irate Primanti Brothers manager in North Versailles, PA when J.D. Vance popped by to greet supporters on Saturday.
“No cameras, we’re not doing an event here. I’ve explained this a bunch of times.” pic.twitter.com/WTequzoSbI
— Cullen McCue (@CullenMcCue) September 30, 2024
Calls to boycott Primanti Brothers and its parent company, Authentic Restaurant Brands, spread on social media in response to the incident. Primanti Brothers currently operates 43 locations across the United States, 34 of which are in Pennsylvania.
Authentic Restaurant Brands also owns P.J. Whelihan’s, a sports bar and restaurant that operates 22 locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Pollotropical, which operates more than 150 locations mostly in the U.S. south and southwest, and Mambo Seafood, which operates 16 locations across Texas.
In response tot he controversy, Primanti Brothers released a statement in which it blamed the incident on a miscommunication between Vance’s staff and the restaurant manager.
“Without any advance notice, today’s campaign stop caused some momentary confusion for our staff. However, Senator Vance and his team were welcomed into our restaurant shortly after and engaged with our guests inside and on the property,” the company said.
The claim that Vance was allowed in the restaurant appears to clash with videos and statements posted by Logue and other eyewitnesses. The Republican contender could be seen greeting supporters in the parking lot, where he explained that everyone’s food was paid for and that restaurant staff were tipped.
“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,” the restaurant’s statement continued.
.@primantibros refused to let @JDVance in to their restaurant full of customers waiting to greet him. They all paid for their drinks, cancelled their food orders and left after hearing that VP candidate was not welcome. Here was his response #Trump2024Vance #RepublicanParty #GOP pic.twitter.com/JsggvQiuhu
— Anissa Zappala (@anissa_zappala) September 28, 2024
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