Lisa Vanderpump Permanently Closes One of Her Famous Restaurants

Photo by: Tommy Garcia/Bravo Pictured: Lisa Vanderpump

Former Real Housewife of Beverly Hills member Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurant, Villa Blanca, is closing its doors for good, according to People. Featured many times as a popular lunch spot for the ladies on the show, the Mediterranean-inspired restaurant opened in 2009, according to People.

According to Screen Rant, the restaurant is now boarded up with a note taped to its door that said the restaurant has been closed for good. Screen Rant noted that the restaurant fell into financial trouble after it lost a sexual discrimination case in 2014.

While their Instagram page or website has not posted an official announcement about the establishment closing for good, an Instagram post to their customers from March 16, 2020, announced their temporary closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. The message read:

“To our Beverly Hills Community, it saddens us to have to do this, but with the advisement of the government and local authorities, we have closed our restaurants until further notice. These are scary times right now, but nothing is more important than the health and safety of our employees and guests. We encourage everyone to social distance themselves, to allow our community to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and we hope everyone does their utmost to fight this. Together we will get through this and come out stronger on the other side. Keep following us for updates and we hope we can welcome you back again soon. Stay safe. Much love, Villa Blanca.”

Vanderpump also owns the famed West Hollywood, California restaurants SUR, Tom Tom, and Pump as well as the Las Vegas hotspot, the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, which all closed temporarily due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to People. SUR and Tom Tom served as the backdrop for Vanderpump’s spinoff show, Vanderpump Rules.

Kyle Richards Weighed In On The Closing

Vanderpump’s former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills castmate and best friend, Kyle Richards, commented on the closing during a July 8, 2020, appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen: @ Home, according to People. During the episode, Cohen asked Richards what her reaction was to the news.

“I mean all of the restaurants are so hard hit in Los Angeles, it didn’t really surprise me at all,” Richards said.

Richards and Vanderpump do not have much of a friendship these days, after a falling out that the two had on Season 9 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. In April 2020, Richards revealed to Bravo that the two had run into each other at a restaurant after not seeing each other for a long time since the falling out.

Richards said to Bravo, “But this last time I saw her at a restaurant and I was passing her table and they sat us right next to each other. And I said to the hostess, ‘Really? Really?’ So I said hello and, to be honest, she was short. And then Ken came up after and I stood up and I gave him a hug. And he said, ‘Why are you giving me a hug? I kicked you out of our home.’ And I said, ‘I can still give you a hug, Ken.’ Because I do care about them. But that was the last time I saw them. And I haven’t seen them since or heard from them.”

Vanderpump Rules Recently Came Under Fire

Lisa Vanderpump’s spinoff show, Vanderpump Rules, which chronicles Vanderpump and her staff at her restaurants, recently came under fire. According to Us Weekly, on June 9, 2020, Bravo cut ties with Vanderpump Rules stars Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni for making racially insensitive remarks in the past. Schroeder and Doute also came under fire earlier this month after their former costar Faith Stowers revealed that the two falsely reported her to the police in 2018 for a crime that she didn’t commit, according to Us Weekly.

In a June 10, 2020, Instagram post, Vanderpump commented on the firings. Vanderpump wrote, “I love and adore our employees and I am deeply saddened by some of the lack of judgment that has been displayed. As many of you know, after watching me for 10 years, I have always been an equal rights activist and ally – my family, my businesses and I condemn all forms of cruelty, racism, homophobia, bigotry and unequal treatment. We’ve never tolerated it in the workplace or our lives.  While you only see a fraction of our employees on the show, a specific friend group, across all of our companies, we have always been a very diverse group of people – every color, ethnicity and sexual orientation.  Most of our employees have worked for us for over a decade, and we have become a family; one that embraces and celebrates each other’s differences. I am proud of the inclusive company that we’ve created. We will continue to embrace diversity as one of our greatest strengths, and I’m excited to give you deeper look into the multi-faceted fabric of our company in the future.”

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