It’s been a whopping 20 years since Vanderpump Rules’ Lisa Vanderpump and her husband, Ken Todd, opened the doors to their legendary West Hollywood hotspot, SUR, and the British restaurateur couldn’t have done it without her trusted business partner Guillermo Zapata.
Lisa delved into their years-long friendship on Season 12, Episode 7, reflecting on the history of the restaurant and lounge. “When we came to the United States to get our visas, Ken and I needed to make an investment in a business, and of course, the restaurant-hospitality business was the business that we knew,” she explained in a confessional interview.
The married couple initially looked into buying the The Abbey, but “then we walked further down the road, and we came across this little, tiny restaurant also known as SUR,” Lisa continued.
At the time, in 2005, Guillermo and his wife Nathalie Pouille-Zapata — both of whom have appeared here and there over the years on Vanderpump Rules — owned SUR before joining Lisa and Ken to make SUR what it is today. As Lisa put it, “I met Guillermo, we shook hands, and here we are 20 years later.”
To celebrate the momentous occasion, the four owners hosted an anniversary bash at SUR with the rest of the Season 12 cast — plus Peter Madrigal — where Guillermo raised a glass to “a new chapter” for the restaurant heading into the future.
What to know about the owners of Lisa Vanderpump’s SUR
Lisa, Ken, Guillermo, and Nathalie make up the four owners of what is sometimes referred to as Sexy Unique Restaurant — though Lisa once clarified SUR was named for the Spanish word “South” before she and Ken came into the picture.
Guillermo, who is Argentinian, ran SUR in the ’90s and managed some of Los Angeles’ finest restaurants for a decade before meeting Nathalie in 2001, according to the restaurant’s website. After falling in love, Nathalie “left her Parisian life behind to help her husband continue SUR’s success,” before getting into business with Lisa and Ken — already thriving on London’s food scene — in 2005.
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“SUR is owned by two couples, a team of four friends who enjoy taking care of the restaurant from day to day,” per the website. “This combination of international expertise has led to a restaurant that is on the cutting edge of style and cuisine, a fresh take on South-European dining.”
Lisa remarked in the aforementioned episode, “Every time I say SUR’s been open for 20 years, I get like a shiver down my spine. Twenty bloody years, it’s time to toot our horn.”
Lisa Vanderpump details SUR’s business challenges
When Lisa returned for Season 12 with a brand-new waitstaff, she was transparent about some of the challenges faced by SUR in recent years, including its closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the closure of her restaurant Pump due to rising costs, she said, “I already made the decision to say goodbye to one baby. I’m not gonna do it again.”
Related: Tom Schwartz & Lisa Vanderpump Share New Details on What’s Happening at TomTom Bar
It was with this renewed sense of determination that Lisa hoped the new generation of SUR-vers — including Demy Selem, Audrey Lingle, Marcus Johnson, Natalie Maguire, Kim Suarez, Venus Binkley, Chris Hahn, Jason Cohen, and Angelica Jensen — could keep SUR moving in the right direction.
“Restaurant costs are up. Many restaurants close down. Four in the last week have closed down,” Lisa warned. “Nobody is surviving this s–t. This is survival of the fittest.”
Learn why Lisa was “not OK” with how the staff acted during a drunken night out at TomTom.
