[Vanderpump Rules] Here's Why Schwartz & Sandy's Never Stood a Chance (From a Customer Who Visited)

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. 

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. 

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.

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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Don't jump!