Vanderpump Rules cast member Tom Sandoval needs to check his oversized ego and remember who his boss is. And if not, Lisa Vanderpump is willing to throw some shade to remind him.
On the March 12 episode of Pump Rules, LVP told Tom that she was moving her displaced restaurant Pump into TomTom’s garden area. TomTom, of course, is her joint venture with Sandoval and Tom Schwartz. Together the two Toms own 5% of the business, while Lisa and her partners own the rest.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum was forced to close Pump in July 2023 due to issues with her landlord. Lisa then decided to just move her business down the street and into TomTom’s backyard. Sandoval was apparently taken aback that no one consulted him on the move.
Lisa’s shade for Sandoval: She’s still the boss
In the episode, Tom was surprised to see the “Pump” wrought iron gate as he approached the entrance to TomTom. He paused at the gate for a moment, with a shocked, “Oh. Okay.”
“Is this Pump now?” he asked Lisa inside.
“I left that up there just to ease myself gently,” she explained before going into the details of the relocation.
“As difficult as [Pump] was to [close],” Lisa confessed, “we had some staff that we loved … including the chef. So we moved it all to TomTom.”
“It feels a little weird that this happened without either Schwartz [or] I knowing about it,” Tom interviewed. He seems to forget that he’s a minority shareholder, even though his name is on the front of the building. Lisa did him and Schwartz a huge favor by allowing them to invest in her new restaurant. He may think he owns the place, but he most assuredly does not.
“I don’t think we would ever consult a 2.5% partner,” Lisa reminded us in her own confessional. Can’t argue with that. Lisa has the final say in the matter.
It’s two restaurants in one
So TomTom’s Garden Bar became Pump at TomTom. Lisa felt the Garden Bar lacked its own identity, so the Pump relocation would give it a new atmosphere. She envisioned a Garden Bar that would be “much more dining-oriented” with the addition of Pump’s Chef Kiko.
Lisa announced Pump’s closing in May 2023 in a statement to People. “Another 10-year lease with a huge increase in rent … is not something we are ready to commit to,” she said at the time. The restaurant closed on July 5, as shown in an earlier VPR episode.
Pump lives on at TomTom. Whether or not Sandoval was consulted.
Vanderpump Rules airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – HOW DO YOU THINK PUMP WILL DO AT TOMTOM? DO YOU THINK SANDOVAL WAS OVERREACHING TO THINK LISA SHOULD HAVE CONSULTED HIM?
