“This Is Not an Apology”: Calls for Boycotting Restaurant Chain Grow after Vance Snubbed by Chain Location, “Good Luck in Bankruptcy Court”
In late September 2024, Senator and 2024 Trump running mate JD Vance was driving through North Versailles, Pennsylvania, and decided to stop at a local restaurant to interact with supporters and staff. Rather than welcome the attention and business, the restaurant manager temporarily kept Sen. Vance from entering the building and reportedly threatened to call the police if Sen. Vance did enter it. The result has been a growing call for a boycott campaign.
Describing the incident, a local attorney, Sean Logue, witnessed the incident and described what happened, saying, “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. J.D. Vance, he gets out, and then the manager runs out and yells at him and says, you can’t come in here.”
As could be expected, the incident led to an online outcry and a great deal of anger directed at the restaurant chain. The chain, in turn, soon took to social media to try to apologize and get the anger to at least somewhat abate, a tactic that largely failed to do as the chain obviously hoped would happen.
Beginning its semi-apology and explanation, the chain said, “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. OUR DOORS ARE OPEN TO ALL PATRONS WHO WISH TO DINE WITH US.”
Continuing, it tried to explain away the incident, saying, “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. 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, AND WE ARE GLAD THAT IT WAS RESOLVED QUICKLY.”
If anything, that statement largely fired up those it appeared meant to appease. One poster on X (formerly Twitter), for example, posted a picture of the statement and responded by calling for a boycott, saying, “
Now Primanti Bros. puts this so called apology out. This is not an apology…it’s because they got backlash on the event that took place. Now, you can’t respond to this on their X account because they won’t take any. More HYPOCRITES among us! #BoycottPrimantiBros”
On much the same note, another said, “Not good enough. And not allowing replies (and having this single post any NOTHING else to explain) shows you have something to hide. What “momentary confusion”? You will need to explain a bit more, otherwise I assume its just a euphemism for ‘one of our workers is a woke leftist who doesn’t like republicans, but we don’t want to fire them because we are also woke leftists’.”
Watch Vance shut down a woke reporter below:
