Tom Schwartz opened up about a major change that was made for the 11th season of “Vanderpump Rules.”
In February 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, Schwartz revealed why viewers won’t see Schwartz & Sandy’s, the bar he co-owns with Tom Sandoval, featured at all during the 11th season of the Bravo reality show. “You’ll hear us allude to it, but we actually didn’t film there this season for a variety of reasons,” Schwartz said of the Franklin Village bar he opened with Sandoval in late 2022.
The “Vanderpump Rules” veteran explained that in the aftermath of Sandoval’s headline-making cheating scandal with former co-star, Raquel Leviss, it felt unsafe to film at the bar. “At one point, we were terrified about the future of the business,” Schwartz said. “It just became a complete spectacle. It felt like the right decision to suspend filming there because we were on the ropes and we were having an existential crisis.”
“If the show continues on, we will be filming there for sure,” he added.
Tom Schwartz Said Sandoval ‘Severely Compromised’ the Bar
Schwartz also shared details of the hate that he even received in the aftermath of his business partner’s affair. He added that he even considered stepping away from the reality show he has starred in since 2013 because he felt as though he was “drowning in negativity.” “I felt like [Schwartz & Sandy’s] had been severely compromised. The future of the bar was questionable at best. I had sunk so much money in there, and I felt so bleak and despondent,” he said.
Following Scandoval, there were rumors that the bar was in serious jeopardy. Sandoval was even asked to step away from the business, as seen in a season 11 discussion filmed with Schwartz.
In the episode “The Ultimate Betrayal,” Schwartz talked about how the business partners had to “clean up [Sandoval’s] mess” following the scandal. “He has severely tainted the brand name. My partners don’t want to work with him,” Schwartz told Lisa Vanderpump in one scene. “We did ask Sandoval to step away from Schwartz & Sandy’s. My partners told Tom that if he comes in they’re gonna close the doors and that he’s not welcome there.”
Nearly one year later, an insider told The U.S. Sun the bar is not on the verge of closing. “[Business partner Greg Morris] and the Toms have had recent discussions where they sat down and tried to make a game plan of how they can refocus on S&S and just put the past behind them,” the source added. “Greg is hoping that people’s minds will change about S&S and it can have a successful comeback.”
Schwartz & Sandy’s Wasn’t Even Featured in the Opening Credits
Heavy/Bravo“Vanderpump Rules” season 11 opener.
The long process to open Schwartz & Sandy’s was a main storyline on “Vanderpump Rules” seasons 9 and 10. But nearly one year after Scandoval broke, the bar wasn’t even featured in the show’s opening title credits.
The opener was filmed at Lisa Vanderpump’s SUR, and Katie Maloney and Ariana Madix’s still-unopened sandwich shop, Something About Her. But for the footage of the two Toms, they were placed at Tom Tom, the West Hollywood bar they are partnered in with Vanderpump. In the previous season of “Vanderpump Rules,” Schwartz and Sandoval’s title sequence was filmed at Schwartz & Sandy’s.
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