Getty isa Vanderpump attends POP Culture Living presents The Vanderpump Beverly Hills Collection Launch
Lisa Vanderpump spoke out about Dorit Kemsley’s recent venture into the restaurant business. On Watch What Happens Live, the wealthy restaurateur, who owns a long list of bars and eateries with her husband Ken Todd, threw shade at her former costar when asked what she thought about her partnership with the Italian chain Buca di Beppo.
Kemsley, who has a close friendship with Buca di Beppo owner Robert Earl, was commissioned to design a banquet room at the Encino location of the restaurant chain, per Us Weekly. That caused some Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fans to assume Kemsley was a partner in the restaurant.
When asked what she thought of Kemsley’s venture as a “restaurateur,” Vanderpump gave a shady answer while dissing her former friend’s Beverly beach swimwear line in the process.
“Well I love Robert Earl so I don’t want to say anything against Buca di Beppo,” Vanderpump told host Andy Cohen. “But I don’t think it’s really a restaurateur, is it, when you decorate the dining room somewhere in the back space. I think that’s far different than running restaurants…. I hope it’s more successful than her bikini business.”
Dorit Was Given Full Reign to Decorate a Room at the Restaurant
On last season’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the first without Vanderpump on board, Kemsley revealed she decorated a banquet room located inside the Encino, California Buca di Beppo eatery. At the time, Kemsley explained that restaurant mogul Robert Earl was her son Jagger’s godfather, and he told her that one of his Buca restaurants was “around the corner” from her mansion. Kemsley told her longtime friend she might need to put her “stamp” on his local restaurant, and a collaboration was born. The mom of two also boasted that she and her husband PK Kemsley have “never come across someone fearing to get into business” with them.
Kemsley told Refinery 29 that her design of the banquet hall at the Encino eatery was inspired by her love for the Isle of Capri after years of living and working in Italy. Before the big reveal played out on the Bravo reality show, the RHOBH star teased that the design would reflect the “colors and splendor of Capri,” and that it was even called the Capri Room.
The RHOBH Cast Celebrated Teddi Mellencamp’s Baby Shower at Dorit’s Buca Room
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fans got an up-close look at Kemsley’s completed dining room during a Season 10 episode that was filmed for Teddi Mellencamp’s baby shower. The party, which ended with a shouting match, was hosted at the room designed by Kemsley.
Not only did the shower guests take in Kemsley’s lemon-infused décor, but they dined on favorites from the restaurant chain, including mozzarella Caprese, chicken parmigiana with spaghetti marinara, salmon Sorrento, cannolis, and more. A bright yellow baby carriage-shaped cake was also a centerpiece at the party. According to Life & Style, the chain offers a “Capri package” based on Kemsley’s hand-picked favorite menu items that were served at the shower.
‘It was a proud moment for me to see my vision for this room come alive,” Dorit told fans on Instagram. “And it was so fun to decorate the room specifically for the shower!”
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