Tom Schwartz on Why He’s Not as Close to Tom Sandoval as Before as He Talks Being “Too Soft,” Plus Jax Taylor Shares Why Sandoval’s Girlfriend Victoria “Always Calls” Him

Tom Schwartz opened up about the closure of Schwartz & Sandy’s and where he stands with Tom Sandoval after Tuesday’s premiere of The Valley season two.

As Jax Taylor, 45, shared why Sandoval’s girlfriend, Victoria Lee Robinson, 32, “always calls” him, Schwartz, 42, reflected on his decision to shutter Schwartz & Sandy’s after just two years of business as he revealed what he learned from the venture, vowed to never put his name on another bar, and confirmed where he and Sandoval, 42, stand today.

“Honestly, I think I’m still processing everything that happened. But I’m in a really good place right now. I’m at least proud to say that I can walk away knowing that I put everything I had into that place,” Schwartz explained on the April 15 episode of The Valley: After Show.

“Lord knows I over-leveraged myself. I feel like we really never were fully accepted or embraced by the neighborhood, but I’m f*cking proud of that place,” he continued, admitting he put “almost all of [his] money” into the failed bar.

As Jesse Lally, 44, applauded Schwartz as the “best bartender,” Jax stated that Schwartz was “all in” with Schwartz & Sandy’s.

“You were always busting a**. You were there all the time. You were so good to your employees. Everybody loved you there. I think you spent more time there than you did [at] your house,” he noted.

Although Schwartz hasn’t completely processed the closing of his venue, he claimed to have found “closure” and “peace” after years of “constant anxiety,” much of which was prompted by the backlash the bar received amid “Scandoval.”

“When you’re hemorrhaging money, and you know that this place with your name on the side of the building is not doing as well. Your employees are suffering now. They can’t pay their bills. It’s just a lot. I think I was too soft before that bar. If anything, now I feel like I have so much more life experience. I have more grit, more gravitas,” Schwartz shared. “I just feel like I’m growing in so many ways.”

After confirming he “would never put [his] name on the side of a bar again,” nor would he ever “put [his] name on a lease again,” especially not for $25,000, Schwartz admitted he loves the industry.

“For better or worse, I do love being in the bar/restaurant industry. I miss the sense of community that I developed in there,” he explained.

As for where he and Schwartz stand now, Schwartz confessed that their relationship is “complicated.”

“It put a lot of tension on our friendship. The financial aspect really put our friendship to the test, and unfortunately, almost destroyed our friendship at one point,” he revealed. “[But] he’s family to me, I’ll always love Tom Sandoval. But of course, I have some deep-rooted frustrations.”

Jax, who had his own regrets about opening a bar with his name on it, also offered an update on his friendship with Sandoval — and Sandoval’s girlfriend.

“I started talking to him the second week in rehab. He was the one that reached out to me very soon, which I was kind of shocked. But I talk to him probably at least once a week now. He’s always checking in with me … and his girlfriend always calls me and checks in with me too,” he shared. 

The Valley season two airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.