Lisa Vanderpump to close her Pump Restaurant Lounge in July in response to an ‘untenable’ rent hike
Lisa Vanderpump is preparing to say goodbye to her Pump Restaurant Lounge after its rent was significantly increased.
On Thursday, The Pump Family told TMZ: ‘It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that the lease at Pump Restaurant is expiring, and we will be closing its doors on July 5th, after 10 years of beautiful evenings under our olive trees.’
But among the bad news for the Vanderpump Rules namesake were plans to open two new restaurants in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace.
The latest setback for Vanderpump comes after her reality series Vanderpump Rules was overwhelmed by ‘Scandoval’ after star Tom Sandoval cheated on his partner Ariana Madix with their costar Raquel Leviss.
The group described the property owner’s new rent rates as being ‘untenable,’ leading them to opt to shut down Pump rather than pay up.
End of an era: Lisa Vanderpump will be closing her Pump Restaurant Lounge in West Hollywood on July 5, TMZ reported on Thursday
Pricy: The celeb-friendly spot is closing its doors due to a rent increase. Vanderpump and her husband Ken Todd opted to not to another 10-year lease, as the new rent would reportedly be nearly $1 million per year
‘While we have loved our time operating Pump, to take on another 10-year lease with a huge increase in rent by the landlords, is not something we are ready to commit to. After successfully running 37+ establishments for many years, this type of rent is untenable,’ they continued.
Sources close to Lisa and her husband Ken Todd said that the yearly rent on Pump would be nearly $1 million, a figure the couple thought was ‘ridiculous,’ and which they weren’t willing to pay.
The sources also claimed that their previously closed restaurant Villa Blanca suffered a similar fate.
The Beverly Hills–located restaurant was closed in 2020 in response to a rent hike, though the landlord doesn’t seem to have gotten anything yet from the increase, as the location has sat empty for the past three years.
The publication’s sources said Vanderpump made sure to keep Pump open through June, as it is Pride Month, which is a particularly big deal in gay-friendly West Hollywood.
They added that the former Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star wanted to ‘support the local community with one last hurrah.’
Although Lisa and her husband are now down one LA restaurant, they still have the high-profile Sur and TomTom remaining in the area.
‘We look forward to welcoming you all to TomTom & Sur in the months following! Thank you for the past decade of support, we have loved our staff, our patrons and our time together,’ the Pump Family added in its statement.
Saying goodbye: ‘It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that the lease at Pump Restaurant is expiring, and we will be closing its doors on July 5th, after 10 years of beautiful evenings under our olive trees,’ the Pump Family said in a statement
More issues: Back in March, Pump was beset by other issues after its liquor license was suspended, apparently due to nonpayment. TomTom’s license was also suspended on March 8 but reactivated two days later
Back at it. However, Pump’s license was also reactivated as of Thursday. Vanderpump reportedly wants to keep it open through Pride Month in June
Back in March, Pump was beset by other issues after its liquor license was suspended.
According to WeHo Times, the restaurant lost the license as of March 8, as did Tom Tom, though the latter regained its license two days later.
The suspension was listed as a ‘Collections Suspension,’ suggesting that the license fee had simply not been paid, rather than being revoked due to some kind of misconduct.
As of Thursday, it had been changed back to ‘Active’ on California’s liquor license registry.
