These LA reality stars are perfectly happy to be part of Hollywood's 'middle class'
LOS ANGELES — When "Vanderpump Rules" made its debut on Bravo in 2013, promising a mix of messy drama and mindless fun as it followed the good-looking staff of West Hollywood's SUR (Sexy Unique Restaurant, in case you were wondering), most of the cast had dreams of breaking out beyond the restaurant's eclectically decorated walls.
"I do want to be famous," Tom Sandoval, then a bartender at SUR, says in the show's first episode. "I don't know if I want Michael Jackson-type of fame, but I definitely would love to be famous."
As "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" spinoff enters a milestone 10th season, there's no question that Sandoval's lofty ambitions have come to fruition for much of the cast. Their friendship woes, bad relationship behavior and drunken antics made them reality TV stars we couldn't stop watching and — in the show's heyday, especially — tried to witness firsthand, booking reservations in the hopes of seeing it all in action.
They're not exactly pop culture icons, to be sure. As fellow cast member Tom Schwartz admits sheepishly on a recent afternoon, "Vanderpump Rules" has secured them status in a comfortable Hollywood tier: "Middle-class show business is a good place to be."
All that is top of mind strolling into Schwartz & Sandy's, the newish bar and restaurant in Los Angeles' Franklin Village co-owned by Sandoval and Schwartz. (And yes, Schwartz pointed out the light installation near the bathrooms inspired by James Turrell's skyspace, though it wasn't fully lit at this hour.) The cocktail lounge, which opened last fall, is a full-circle evolution for the longtime friends, who spun their reality TV fame and years hustling in the service industry into
