Tom Schwartz is responding to rumors suggesting the Los Angeles bar he shares with Tom Sandoval, Schwartz & Sandy’s, will soon shutter its doors.
While also reacting to the recent news regarding Jax Taylor‘s separation from Brittany Cartwright, 35, Schwartz, 40, revealed if there is any truth to claims of a future closure of Schwartz & Sandy’s and offered an update on the bar he and Sandoval, 41, share with Lisa Vanderpump, 63, and Ken Todd, West Hollywood’s TomTom.
“It feels really good to be able to tell you this with complete transparency and honesty that we’re not going to close,” Schwartz confirmed to Parade on March 5. “I mean, listen, you never know a year from now, but right now we have a synergy and a momentum we haven’t had in a long time. We have an awesome staff and back of the house, front of the house. Something feels different. We have some magic going again.”
“We just installed a new sound system, so we’re finally implementing our music program, DJs. We’re going to have some cool, little musical acts. We’re going to change some of the decor, new food, new drinks, but it’s like a Schwarz & Sandy’s Resuscitation 2.0, a resurgence, and it feels good. Last night I was in there, it was such a great vibe. I don’t know, it just felt right. It felt good again for the first time in a long time,” he continued.
Following the explosion of “Scandoval” in March 2023, which saw Schwartz’s friend and business partner, Sandoval, 41, being caught cheating on Ariana Madix, 38, with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, 29, Schwartz & Sandy’s saw major backlash. Understandably, the situation was quite upsetting to Schwartz.
“I was bitter about it for a while, but we just were persevering, we’re powering through,” he admitted. “There were times that almost broke me, for sure. That place, it really almost broke me. Opening a bar is no f*cking joke, especially when you’re on hook for shortfalls and stuff like that. It got dark for a while. People were so ruthless and unrelenting and toxic. It got scary for a while, but I’m glad to say that’s the thing of the past.”
“Now everyone that’s coming in is so brimming with positivity, leaving great reviews, pulling me aside, telling me they love the place because it is a f*cking cool bar. If you haven’t been there, it is a vibe,” he explained. “I’m not saying it’s undeniable, but you can’t say we didn’t swing for the fences. We really went for it. And I think it’s beautiful, and I hopefully we’re just getting started, but tough time to be a restaurateur, a bar owner.”
In addition to Schwartz & Sandy’s thriving, TomTom is also doing great.
“I think people also remember that we’re minority stakeholders in TomTom, and they know how much time, energy, and money we invested [in Schwartz & Sandy’s],” he said. “I think some reactive, petty viewers knew that they could hurt us by applying pressure to that place.”
Also speaking to Parade, Schwartz weighed in on Jax and Brittany’s split, which Brittany confirmed last month on their podcast.
“I didn’t know, but from what I’ve seen and he’s chosen to divulge to me, it sounds super healthy, super responsible, proactive, and like they said, I think their word was ‘amicable,'” Schwartz noted. “There’s no scandals or anything like that. I think, I don’t know. I can’t speak on behalf of them and I don’t have enough information to really weigh in, but I love Brittany and Jax so much, and I have such a close friendship with both of them.”
“They’re like family,” he continued. “I know that term gets thrown around a lot, but I’ve really spent a lot of time with them, and I love them and they’re going to be fine. I mean, I don’t know. They’re both going to be fine regardless of what they decide to do in regards to their marriage, their relationship, they’re going to be fine.”
Because he endured a split from his ex-wife Katie Maloney, 37, Schwartz understands what Jax, 44, and Brittany, who are set to star in Bravo’s The Valley, are going through.
“Transitioning out of a relationship is always a little messy,” he admitted. “It ebbs and flows, and then there are days you have – at least speaking from my own personal experience – there are days with conviction that it was the right decision. Then there are other days where you’re reminiscing about the best parts of your marriage or your relationship and you’re like, ‘My God, is this the right decision?’ Even when you know it’s the right decision, you still occasionally have bouts of self-doubt, especially when you’ve spent 5, 10, 15, 20 years with someone. It’s tough, man, but I’m a fan of healthy separations. I’m an advocate for divorce as opposed to staying in a relationship longer than you should. We’ve all seen how that plays out and it’s not…yeah.”
Schwartz then offered an update on where he and Katie stand today.
“She’s not going for the uppercut KO’s, but she’s taking little jabs [on social media],” he noted, prior to Katie’s recent diss against his relationship with rumored girlfriend Sophia Skoro, 23.
“They’re like little friendly, facetious jabs, and I think maybe imbued with a little bit of love, begrudging love, not like, ‘I’m still in love with you,’ but ‘Hey, we had 13 beautiful years together. Sometimes that’s so beautiful. We created a lot of awesome memories and let’s not completely forget about that.’ But that being said, you’re still a mother-effer, so I don’t know. It’s like post-divorce kind of facetious love, I guess,” he reasoned.
Vanderpump Rules season 11 airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
