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A viral online rumor claimed that sandwich shop Primanti Bros. fired a manager for denying service to JD Vance, the Republican candidate for Vice President for the 2024 US Presidential elections.
The rumor was popularized after a popular Facebook page with over one million followers, Red Wave, shared the news. A viral post from the page, dated September 30, read:
"The Primanti Brothers has FIRED the manager who refused service to JD Vance!"
The aforementioned post received over 40,000 reactions, including over 30,000 likes. The post was quickly circulated online as many users shared the same information on other social media platforms including X, Truth Social, and Threads.
However, the rumor is false. There is no evidence of Primanti Bros. firing any manager or member of staff for denying service to Vance. The rumor about the sandwich shop firing a manager originated from the Facebook page, America's Last Line of Defense, which describes its content as satire or parody. The page's posts are intended to be taken in jest and not based on facts.
These rumors arose amid news of a manager from Primanti Bros. stopping JD Vance and his supporters from entering one of their outlets in North Versailles, Pennsylvania. However, the official social media handle of Primanti Bros denied such reports. Their post from September 28 read:
"Our doors are open to all patrons who wish to dine with us. 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 outlet also thanked JD Vance for his "supportive comments" delivered outside the shop, clarifying that the manager in charge was just a little "nervous". The post mentioned:
"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 quickly resolved."
Therefore, Primanti Bros. claimed that they did not deny service to JD Vance and the reports arose out of a misunderstanding. Moreover, no manager was fired for denying service to Vance. The rumors originated through satirical posts and there is no truth to it.
JD Vance asks crowd to keep supporting Primanti Bros. amid rumors of him being denied service
On September 28, Washington County GOP chair Sean Logue claimed on social media that JD Vance was denied service at an outlet of Primanti Bros. in North Versailles, Pennsylvania. CBS News reported of the visit that 100 Trump supporters were waiting inside the outlet as they were expecting Vance to pay a visit there. Logue claimed he was one of them.
As per Logue, the manager in the outlet told the Republican supporters that Senator Vance was not allowed to make a stop at Primanti Bros. and that they would call the police if he trespassed into the restaurant. He wrote online:
"The manager told patrons, other Republicans, that Vance is not allowed to make a campaign stop at Primanti Brothers. And then when there was pushback to say, 'Wait a second, Kamala Harris just did this a month ago,' the response was, 'Well, if he wants to sit down and order food, we can't stop him.'"
Logue further claimed that the manager ran outside when Vance arrived at the venue and told the Republican that he was not allowed in the restaurant.
On the same day, Primanti Bros. took to their official social media handles to deny such reports, claiming they welcomed JD Vance and his supporters into the restaurant after a "momentary confusion" among the staff.
Shortly after his visit, JD Vance himself addressed the crowd outside the Pennsylvania outlet of Primanti Bros., asking them to continue supporting the local business. Vance also claimed the manager got a little "nervous" and their actions should not be held against them. Vance said:
"We paid for everyone's food, we gave a nice tip. And of course when I gave a nice tip I said no taxes on tip. It's all right. Don't hold it against her [the manager]. She just got a little nervous. But it's a great local business. Let's keep on supporting it. And most importantly, Nov. 5 or before, go vote. Let's win this thing."
Despite Vance's remarks, Sean Logue continued to claim that Primanti Bros. did not treat the Republicans well. He said in a statement via CBS News:
"Vance is a true gentleman, and he was being very nice and very gracious, and he was being magnanimous, and he didn't want to cause any other problems. I'm being honest with you. I'm telling you that the way Primanti Brothers treated me and the other Republicans is absolutely unacceptable, and nowhere in their statement is an apology, where's my apology Primanti Brothers."
Logue also added that the sandwich shop has been trying to contact him ever since but he did not receive their calls.
