The cruelest question one can ask a young person in West Hollywood who identifies him or herself as an actor is the classic: “So what restaurant do you work at?”
But on Jan. 7 it’s going to be possible for a small coterie of WeHo servers to proudly identify themselves as both actors and waiters. They are the staff of Lisa Vanderpump’s Sur, the Robertson Boulevard restaurant and lounge whose owner is famed for her role on two seasons of the reality TV show “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
Bravo is giving Vanderpump her own reality show — “Vanderpump Rules” — which shows her trying to balance life as an owner of what is arguably West Hollywood’s most celebrity-focused restaurant while serving as mother to Pandora, 24, and Max, 18, and wife to Ken Todd, her husband of 29 years. And then there’s the job of managing a Beverly Hills home celebrated for Vanderpump’s multi-thousand-square-foot custom closet, featured on E! Online. Their previous home, which they sold after Pandora and Max moved out on their own, was lost in a fire in June, well after the Vanderpump-Todd’s sold it for a rumored $19 million.
The drama in the first episode of “Vanderpump Rules” focuses on her management of the Sur staff, a crew that’s glamorous in its own right. Staffers include Jax Taylor, identified by Bravo as an actor and model; Katie Maloney, who describes herself as a “music supervisor;” Kristen Doute, an actor; Scheana Marie, an actor and singer; Stassi Schroeder, a model and fashion writer, and Tom Sandoval, an actor and model. The issues Vanderpump must deal with include various sexual liaisons among the staff.
Vanderpump and Todd, with a joint net worth estimated by various gossip sites at around $150 million, own more than two dozen restaurants in the U.S. and abroad, including Villa Blanca in Beverly Hills. Their partners in Sur are Guillermo Zapata, an Argentinian chef, and his French wife, Nathalie. Vanderpump expanded the restaurant last year by opening Sur Lounge, which launched with a regular event called “Temptation Thursdays” by promoter Jeffrey Sanker to attract a gay crowd.
Vanderpump and Todd, both originally from England, made their fortune initially with a number of successful bars and restaurants in London. Vanderpump also has an acting background, with appearances in movies and television shows such as “A Touch of Class,” “The Wildcats of St Trinian’s,” “Silk Stalkings” and “Baywatch Nights.”
I like the show, love ken and Lisa but if the show
Is going to continue to be about Stassi arguing
With her boyfriend the while show or Schnea I’m
done! This girl is jealous and catty and its annoying
watching them argue the whole time
it is worse than a train wreck. Watching this show is like watching the decline of all that is right in world. The bad grammar is appalling. The insipid people who work there are the biggest reason why I praise the stars I am not a 20 something any longer. The actually make me want to avoid the restaurant not eat there. The mean girl back stabbing is so awful and they are being valorized for it. The cheeky remarks I hear from interviews like ‘Don’t you want to spank them’ ! No these vacuous morons need to be taught… Read more »
How boring! This is one show I will skip!
I am getting bored with all the Real Housewives shows and now this spin-off?
I guess the Vanderpumps need the money.
Just disgusting.
Lisa is very classy on the shows, I hope with all my heart that her and Ken live a long and happy marriage. It has to be stressful under camera and under tabloids most of your life. Please Ken and Lisa walk away from any stress of shows if they ever get too close and start problems in your marriage. My cousin has been in your restraunt and my Aunt quite often. My cousin lives in Malibu my Aunt lives in two homes Malibu and also Just into a neigjboorhood area she calls a bit more tasteful and quiet then… Read more »
generalize, bitch…. ick
Concerned – elaborate
Ah, the pinnacle of class and good taste: Beverly Hills Housewives and the Vanderpumps. The first episode: “The issues Vanderpump must deal with include various sexual liaisons among the staff.” Just what we all need to know about running a restaurant. Will the Mayor and City Council of West Hollywood be giving Lisa the key to the city ala Rhianna? And will they present it in WEHO or in Beverly Hills?