Since the dawn of Vanderpump Rules, Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval have been a packaged deal. The latter was usually the ring leader when it came to big ideas, while the other happily rode in a sidecar. For multiple seasons, the two best friends entertained viewers and their boss, Lisa Vanderpump, leading them down the road to partner with her on TomTom. In November 2022, the duo branched out further with an idea for yet another bar, Schwartz & Sandy’s. The eatery opened just a few months before it was revealed that Sandy had cheated on his longtime girlfriend, causing the apocalyptic ripple of Scandoval. Sadly, the bar never stood a chance.
Schwartz & Sandy’s was a pie-in-the-sky dream
The Toms had a lot to contend with when it came to launching their own bar. Neither seemed to be on the same page when brainstorming ideas, and scenes often showed Sandoval going off on multiple tangents and having to be reeled back in. It was clear Schwartz felt abandoned. At times, even their partner Greg, who had years of restaurant experience under his belt couldn’t get a word in edge-wise. Instead of embracing Greg’s knowledge of the industry, the not-so-silent partner was often left out of meetings as the Toms thought they knew better.
With the success of TomTom, their West Hollywood bar, their hubris grew to enormous proportions. The scandal itself was bad for business. Almost immediately after it was revealed that Tom had cheated, patrons and fans quickly called for a boycott of the Franklin Village eatery. In one selfish, lusty choice, Sandoval brought down the roof of his and Schwartz’s future. But perhaps the hardest hill to tackle was the lack of a good idea. Neither Bravo star could make a decision to save their lives and often took their ideas of fancy lighting and wallpaper and blew the budget.
Schwartz & Sandy’s needed a lot of work
In February 2024, I had the bright idea of putting boots on the ground and heading out for a night at Schwartz & Sandy’s. I was in LA and convinced my sister and two good friends to join me on the excursion. Honestly, we were all pretty excited since we had been VPR fans for ions. But Schwartz & Sandy’s wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. And it was brutally clear that it needed some TLC. I didn’t care that the bar was in a strip mall next to a pizza shop, interior design store, dry cleaners, and a Mexican restaurant. But it took 16 minutes for my Mezcal drink to get from the bar to my lips. And no one seemed to care. That was the first red flag.
The menu given to us at the time was transitional. But even now, I am not sure it ever fully launched. As a group, we chose the Fresh Start, a vodka-based drink with green tea; the Wendy Peppercorn, a Mezcal and pink peppercorn drink; and the Arugal Awakening, made with gin and muddled arugula. The joint was obviously pandering to Bravo viewers, but it still could have taken a bit more pride.
Katie Maloney doesn’t seem shocked that the doors are closing
When the news broke, no one seemed shocked to see that the bar’s doors would be closing. Katie Maloney took to the post’s comments, writing, “I have an idea. It rhymes with Katie Maloney’s bar and grill. JUST KIDDING. I’m looking forward to what’s next for you.” In Season 10, Katie opened up during a confessional, sharing, “This bar has a very complicated history. It put a massive strain on our relationship. It just was a lot more of a presence in my life than I thought it would be without me having a say over it.”
This week, Schwartz told People, “Deciding to close was one of the hardest decisions we’ve made. We agonized over it for quite some time because we truly believe it’s a great bar, still ripe with potential.” Schwartzy seemed to be a bit more grounded out of the two best friends. The guy’s world revolved around Schwartz & Sandy’s for the last three years. But the closing has been hard. Schwartz added, “Tom and I learned the hard way about the pitfalls of having your name on the building. It comes with immense responsibility, and your personal life directly reflects on your business and your partners. It’s a double-edged sword for a public figure.”
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