Alex Baskin

Few places in the history and the lore of Vanderpump Rules loom quite as large as the Belmont.

Probably the second most important and consequential location to Sur itself.

And I say that with apologies, not just to Tom Tom, but to the dearly departed Schwartz and Sandys.

RIP Schwartz and Sandys.

the group of friends that was at the center of Vanderpump Rules would get together frequently.

And I spent many occasions with them there, especially during the development of the series.

We had countless brunches there where the show really came to life.

And then during the show itself,

Tom Schwartz and I would get together at the Belmont to catch up and check in and it was also where he made his ultimately very compelling pitch to be a part of the show.

He wasn't sure that he wanted to be in the show in the first place because he was an aspiring actor and the show wasn't sure that he made sense as a primary cast member because

he didn't work at SUR, which was a prerequisite for being a part of the show.

So Tom presented me with a list of pros and cons for his participation in the show.

And the pros were about his glowing personality and his centrality in the lives of all of the cast members.

And the cons had one, which was

He didn't work at Sur.

Ultimately, he tried working at Pump.

That didn't work out, but we love Tom and are thrilled that he became a part of the Vanderpump Rules family, which he already was from the outside.

The Belmont is also where Tom and Tom Sandoval got together post-Scandoval to talk about the fallout, which...

they nor anyone else really fully understood at that point.

And scores of other occasions, both on and off camera.