Lisa Vanderpump Speculates on TomTom's Future: "I Think..."
Vanderpump Rules' Lisa Vanderpump also revealed where she stands with Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz today.
Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval's bar, Schwartz & Sandy's, may be closing at the end of the year, but the bar they own in-part with Lisa Vanderpump is still thriving.
The Vanderpump Rules alums opened up TomTom with the restaurateur back in 2018, and Lisa just revealed how the bar is doing now (and where she stands with Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz).
"I love them dearly, and especially Schwartz I’m very close to, so yeah, I think there’s still room to grow the TomTom brand and be smart about it," Lisa said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight on December 10. "There’s a lot of cache."
As for the specific role Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval might play in any of the aforementioned growing, Lisa clarified that they only own "two and a half percent" of TomTom.
Lisa Vanderpump reacts to Schwartz & Sandy's closing
As Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval revealed in late November, they will be closing their bar, Schwartz & Sandy's, at the end of 2024.
Along with their business partner, the pair opened the West Hollywood spot in 2022.
Lisa reacted to the news in an interview with the Housewives Nightcap podcast on December 5.
"It was a hard blow," she said on the podcast. "I'm very sad to see Schwartz & Sandy's close because that was such a struggle and it was a very difficult time to start a restaurant business."
Why is Schwartz & Sandy's closing?
One of the reasons why the bar is closing is due to financial difficulties, Tom Schwartz explained.
"Deciding to close was one of the hardest decisions we’ve made," Tom Schwartz told PEOPLE. "We agonized over it for quite some time because we truly believe it’s a great bar, still ripe with potential. Unfortunately, the current climate for this business is pretty rough."
Following Tom Sandoval's breakup from Ariana Madix, the bar struggled even more.
"Recovering from all the negativity post-scandal wasn’t easy, and the slimmer margins post-COVID made it even harder to bounce back," Tom Schwartz added. "There’s not a lot of room for error in the restaurant/bar business."
He concluded, "It’s already a tough business, and the damage from relentless negative press over the last year made it even harder. It was difficult not to feel resentful and bitter, but eventually, we had to let it go — no more replaying what went wrong."
Though Schwartz & Sandy's will soon be shutting its doors, Tom Schwartz told PEOPLE that he would be interested in opening a dive bar in the future.
"We’ll still be holding things down at TomTom," he told the outlet. "Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but I'd still like to open a little dive bar someday."
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