A new waitstaff might be SUR-ving guests for Vanderpump Rules Season 12, but one familiar face has remained a constant presence alongside Lisa Vanderpump: her partner, Nathalie Pouille-Zapata. As Lisa stopped by SUR during the season premiere, she ran into Nathalie, who informed her that things were “not good,” and the trouble involved server Marcus Johnson.
“Today, I was watching the camera because I was looking for something that I lost, and I saw that Marcus was drinking in the little bar back kitchen,” Nathalie explained to Lisa during the Dec. 2 episode. He was training new server Jason Cohen at the time.
Nathalie continued, “Teaching Jason how to do it—how to sneak it. And then he comes over here, chatting with Venus [Binkley] at the bar, casually asking the bartender for two shots. And they like took those shots, and went to like sneak two more drinks.”
It’s hardly the first time a SUR-ver has been caught on camera sneaking drinks while on the job at SUR. Stassi Schroeder once explained how she filled a “tall glass…typically used for water” with white wine to disguise her alcohol during Season 2, Episode 11.
Lisa pointed this out to Nathalie, saying, “Listen, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard this bulls—t, okay? I mean, do we suspend four of them? How is that gonna hurt the business?”
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But Lisa also added that things have changed at SUR. “I know that people will sneak a drink here and there. I mean, this ain’t my first rodeo, that’s for sure. But, this is 2025, this isn’t 2013,” she explained in her confessional. “SUR has HR. We have to crack down on this kind of stuff.”
Nathalie admitted she was “about to cry” and revealed the business has been facing financial hardships—and the missing alcohol isn’t helping. “It’s not respectful. We’ve been struggling so much, at least you want to have the support of your staff,” she told Lisa.
Lisa reassured Nathalie that she’d address the issue head-on during a staff meeting.
“We’re going to catch it, we’re going to deal with it,” Lisa told her. “I know it’s been a really hard few months for you. We have survived over the years, we’re gonna survive now, okay?”
Who are Nathalie Pouille-Zapata and her husband, Guillermo Zapata?
Nathalie and her husband, Guillermo Zapata, have been a staple at SUR over the years, and have even popped up in Vanderpump Rules’s main title group photo. The power couple owns SUR along with Lisa and her husband, Ken Todd. Guillermo originally founded SUR in 1995, running it solo for ten years, before joining forces with Lisa and Ken in 2005. Guillermo even met Nathalie at SUR in 2001, according to the restuarant’s bio, and the two eventually married. They have two daughters, Mia Rose and Lulu, according to Ebby magazine.
“As you know, SUR is my baby. And Nathalie works her ass off here. This is her livelihood,” Lisa told her staff in the Dec. 2 episode to describe Nathalie’s importance.
One of the more memorable moments on the show involved Nathalie and Lisa organizing a sexy surprise burlesque birthday party for Guillermo in Season 2, Episode 5, and Stassi and fellow SUR-ver Katie Maloney showed off their moves during a dance.
What Nathalie Pouille-Zapata and Guillermo Zapata do at SUR
Although Lisa’s restaurant and hospitality empire is legendary among Bravo fans, Guillermo is typically the general manager out on the floor with the staff nightly. Nathalie shared with WeHoOnline that she takes care of the “accounting, hiring, HR, communication, and promotion…all the fun stuff.”
“Our jobs are really separated because, otherwise…we can’t be on top of each other,” Nathalie explained.
The couple opened up about how they came to partner with Lisa before she became a Bravolebrity through The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
“Guillermo called me and said, ‘I just met this couple. They are fabulous, and they want to be our partners,’” Nathalie told the outlet. “This lady even told me she has the money inside her purse right here on the patio.’”
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The couple detailed how they ventured to Lisa and Ken’s Beverly Hills home and worked out an investment deal with Lisa and Todd of $300,000, which would enable them to expand the restaurant into what eventually became the SUR Lounge. But Lisa and Todd had one condition: They said, “we want to design the place, and you have nothing to say about it,” Guillermo explained.
Although Guillermo named his restaurant SUR because it’s Spanish for “south,” putting a new spin on the name was also part of Lisa’s touch.
“We kind of ended up putting on the wall, ‘Sexy Unique Restaurant’,” Lisa told The Daily Dish during a Dec. 2016 interview.
ICYMI, check out the new era of Vanderpump Rules with the Season 12 trailer showing all the messy drama to come.
