Claim Primanti Bros. closed locations after JD Vance visit is stolen satire | Fact check
The claim: Primanti Bros. closed 10 locations after fallout over Vance visit
A Sept. 30 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes side-by-side images of Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, and the facade of a Primanti Bros. restaurant.
“Primanti Bros. Shuts Down 10 Prime Locations Amid Boycott Backlash Following JD Vance Fallout,” reads the post.
It was shared more than 1,000 times in three days. Another version of the claim spread widely on Threads.
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Our rating: False
There is no evidence the restaurant has closed any locations since Vance’s Sept. 28 visit. The claim originated on a satirical website.
Restaurant, GOP officials clash on details of Vance incident
The link in the first comment of the post takes users to an article that first appeared Sept. 30 on Esspots.com, a satirical website that labels its content as such.
There are no announcements of restaurant closures on Primanti Bros.’ website or social media pages, nor are there reports from credible news outlets that the chain recently closed any locations.
The chain found itself at the center of a controversy over Vance’s Sept. 28 visit to its North Versailles, Pennsylvania, location. The restaurant said in a statement posted on social media that the unexpected visit “caused some momentary confusion” but Vance was “welcomed into our restaurant shortly after and engaged with our guests inside and on the property.”
GOP officials described the incident differently. Councilman Sam DeMarco of Allegheny County, where the restaurant is located, claimed an unnamed manager threatened to call the police if Vance entered. Washington County GOP chair Sean Logue also said Vance was “not welcomed” by the business, KDKA-TV reported.
Vance told a crowd outside the restaurant that he thought the manager "didn't want to make her restaurant part of a campaign stop" but that they should continue supporting the business.
The claim is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where stories written as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.
Fact check: JD and Usha Vance married in 2014, no evidence of previous marriages
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, visited a Primanti Bros. restaurant in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, in August.
USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims involving Vance, including that an image showed a C-SPAN caption of “single person clapping” during one of his speeches, that he only received two military awards and that a video showed a teenage Vance preaching on Oprah Winfrey’s show.
USA TODAY reached out to Primanti Bros. and users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive responses.
Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Primanti Bros., accessed Oct. 3, Facebook page search
Primanti Bros., accessed Oct. 3, Website search
Primanti Bros., accessed Oct. 3, X account search
Esspots.com, Sept. 24, About Us
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim Primanti Bros. closed doors after Vance visit | Fact check
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