Lisa Vanderpump to close her Pump Restaurant Lounge in July in response to an ‘untenable’ rent hike
Lisa Vanderpump closes her Pump Restaurant Lounge in July in response to ‘unsustainable’ rent increase – and after ‘ten years of beautiful evenings under our olive trees’
Lisa Vanderpump prepares to say goodbye to her Pump Restaurant Lounge after the rent was significantly increased.
The Pump Family told that on Thursday TMZ: ‘It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Pump Restaurant’s lease is expiring and that we will be closing our doors on July 5, after 10 years of beautiful evenings under our olive trees.’
But among the bad news for its namesake Vanderpump Rules were plans to open two new restaurants at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
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 homeowner’s new rent rates as “unsustainable,” leading them to choose to close Pump rather than pay.
End of an era: Lisa Vanderpump is closing her Pump Restaurant Lounge in West Hollywood on July 5, TMZ reported Thursday
Pricey: The celeb-friendly spot is closing its doors due to a rent increase. Vanderpump and her husband Ken Todd opted not to enter into a new 10-year lease as the new rent was reported to be close to $1 million a year
“While we have enjoyed our time running Pump, going into another 10-year lease with a huge rent increase by the landlords is not something we want to commit to. After years of successfully running 37+ establishments, this kind of rent is unsustainable,” they continued.
Sources close to Lisa and her husband Ken Todd said the annual rent on Pump would be close to $1 million, an amount the couple said was “ridiculous” and they were unwilling to pay.
The sources also claimed that their previously closed Villa Blanca restaurant suffered a similar fate.
The Beverly Hills restaurant closed in 2020 in response to a rent increase, though the landlord appears to have gotten nothing from the increase as the venue has been vacant for the past three years.
The publication’s sources said Vanderpump made sure to keep Pump open through June, as it’s Pride Month, which is particularly important 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 hurray.”
Even though Lisa and her husband are now in a restaurant in LA, they still have the high-profile Sur and TomTom around.
‘We look forward to welcoming you all to TomTom & Sur in the coming months! Thank you for the past decade of support, we have enjoyed our staff, our customers and our time together,” the Pump Family added in its statement.
Saying farewell: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Pump Restaurant’s lease is coming to an end and that we will close on July 5, after 10 years of beautiful evenings under our olive trees,” the Pump family said in a statement
More trouble: Back in March, Pump was beset by other problems after its liquor license was suspended, apparently for non-payment. TomTom’s license was also suspended on March 8, but was reactivated two days later
Back to it. But Pump’s license was also reactivated on Thursday. Vanderpump reportedly wants to keep it open during Pride Month in June
In March, Pump was beset by other problems after its liquor license was suspended.
According to WeHo timesthe restaurant lost its license on March 8, as did Tom Tom, although the latter regained its license two days later.
The suspension was listed as a ‘Collections Suspension’, suggesting that the license fee was simply not paid, rather than revoked for misconduct.
As of Thursday, it had changed back to “Active” on the California liquor license registry.