Tom Schwartz is getting honest about the end of an era.
The Vanderpump Rules alum opened up on The Valley After Show about TomTom being put up for sale, admitting that even though he was not completely shocked by the news, the reality of letting go of the West Hollywood restaurant and bar still hurts.
TomTom opened in 2018 with Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd at the helm, while Schwartz and Tom Sandoval served as the namesakes and minority partners. The bar quickly became a major part of the Vanderpump Rules universe, with fans watching Schwartz and Sandoval step into the hospitality world under Lisa and Ken’s guidance.
Now, after years of ups and downs, TomTom officially hit the real estate market in March 2026.
He called the closure a “sign of the times” and said he was not caught off guard.
“Lisa and Ken called me, and we all kinda knew,” Schwartz recalled, mentioning “dwindling sales” as part of the reality behind the decision.
Still, knowing it was coming did not make it any less emotional.
“I’m effing sad. There’s such a big part of my heart and soul that’s in that place,” Schwartz said.
Although Schwartz only owned a small percentage of TomTom, he said the bar meant far more to him than the number on paper.
“I technically have my puny 5 percent, but it means the world to me. Like, it meant 100 percent of my life for so long. We put a lot of our f–king blood, sweat, and tears in that place. Like, I really poured my heart out every time I went in there. But, yeah, I’ll make a few bucks when they sell it, which will be nice.”
TomTom’s sale comes after Schwartz and Sandoval’s other bar, Schwartz & Sandy’s, closed its doors in December 2024. With both businesses now behind him, Schwartz is being very honest about how difficult the restaurant and bar industry can be.
When Jason Caperna joked that he was not “in the market” to buy TomTom, Schwartz warned him against getting into the restaurant business unless he truly loved it.
“It’s a nightmare, it’s an all-consuming,” Schwartz explained. “Just up at dawn, stressed at night. It’s like, even when things are going good, it’s just… If, like, if you don’t love it, I don’t know, man. But I would never open my own bar or put my name on a lease ever again. Or finance it.”
That is a major shift from where Schwartz once saw his life going. At one point, he believed hospitality would be his long-term career path.
“I mean, that was, like, my path. I’m gonna be a restaurateur. We wanted to, like, license Schwartz & Sandy’s. We were looking at spots in, like, Las Vegas. And, like, OK, this is gonna be my life,” Schwartz said.
But after everything he has been through, Schwartz says the experience changed him.
“I’ve learned so much, and I became a better person for sure. Whatever little residual Peter Pan Syndrome I had lingering in my system is just gone now. It shaped me into the man I am today, and I still have a lot of growing to do. I’m a late bloomer. But, like, it’s sad. It feels like the end of an era.”
Schwartz also gave an update on where he stands with Lisa Vanderpump today, making it clear that despite TomTom being for sale, there is still a relationship there.
“Lisa checks in on me,” he said. “We’ll FaceTime from time to time. They’ve got an empire they’re building, a new empire in Las Vegas in the desert. She actually just invited me to come out to the opening for her new hotel in Las Vegas, which is gonna be so chic, so fabulous. But I can’t go.”
Schwartz also addressed his relationship with Sandoval after years of friendship, business stress and the fallout from Scandoval.
“Tom is doing great. We’ve reestablished our friendship. Um, there’s no lingering resentment anymore. We’re cool. We’re good. I mean, he’s family to me. We just needed a long break, which I think everyone can understand.”