Who Is SUR Manager Peter Madrigal on Vanderpump Rules?
The long-time employee of Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd has half a dozen side hustles but stays loyal.
As fans are surely aware, Vanderpump Rules’ Peter Madrigal has worked at Lisa Vanderpump’s SUR for nearly 15 years — well before the then-The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member helped create the spinoff based in her restaurant and on the drama between the people who worked there.
Learn more about Peter and his career, both at SUR and beyond.
When did Peter Madrigal start working at SUR?
Peter started at SUR in 2008, according to his LinkedIn page, after attending the University of Southern California between 2005 and 2008 and majoring in theater.
He told the Daily Dish in 2017 that he was working in retail at Club Monaco when he met SUR co-owner, Guillermo Zapata.
"At the time we were going through a recession, or the recession was going to be upon us soon, and I just wanted anything I could get. That’s all I wanted," Peter explained. "I wanted to take anything I could get at the time. I was like, 'You know what? Suck it up. I’ll just work my way to the top from bus boy to server/bartender.' That’s what I did."
He was, in fact, hired a busboy, worked his way up to a server/bartender position, and has been in a managerial role since 2011.
Peter says he’s more committed to his job than ever. “I’m always working,” he told the podcast Jamie All Over in December 2022. “I’m always at SUR.”
That doesn’t mean he keeps up with all the drama that goes down there or on Vanderpump Rules, though.
“I kind of avoid everything,” he explained. “The thing is, I’m not going to be able to be managing SUR and involved in drama. That’s not good, you know what I mean? There always has to be someone with a level head through all the chaos involved.”
Peter Madrigal’s Career Beyond SUR
Although Peter told Lisa during an episode of Vanderpump Rules Season 10 that he would like to open his “own lounge” one day, he said that he won’t be leaving SUR “right now” (much to Lisa’s pleasure).
He revealed that he does, however, has a few side hustles, so even when he’s not working at SUR, he’s most likely still working. “I started my own production company that I’m really focused on right now,” he told the podcast in 2022. “[I’m] getting projects done. I have a bunch of projects that I’m working on at the moment. So that’s one of my main focuses for next year.”
He is also currently working in real estate part time as an agent with Compass, and sells T-shirts referencing popular moments and quotes from Vanderpump Rules — including ones that claim that he is the “number one guy.” (VPR cast member James Kennedy, however, disputes this.)
Peter is also available to book on Cameo where, for just $100, you can get a personalized message from him for the Vanderpump Rules fan in your life.
He’s also super active on his Instagram account, routinely posting videos on how to make different cocktails to his page. If you’re looking for a good recipe for happy hour, he’s got one.
Asked if he’d ever consider appearing on any other Bravo series — like Paige DeSorbo appearing on Southern Charm or Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval going on Winter House — Peter said on the 2022 podcast that he’d “love” to go on the latter. However, he admitted he would be “like a deer in the headlights” if he did.
Peter Madrigal's Relationship with Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd
Peter is the only person to appear in Season 1 of the show who still works at SUR.
Peter has said he owes a lot to Lisa and Ken, telling The Daily Dish in 2017 that they taught him to “grow up,” “be responsible and learn.”
“I can legitimately say that I’m Ken and Lisa’s friend at this point because I don’t want anything from them,” he said. “I just want a little bit of respect, and that’s it. I want respect and that’s all.”
“Peter’s a great guy,” Lisa told Page Six in April 2022. “Everybody needs a Peter in their lives.”
Is Peter Madrigal dating anyone?
Peter and former SUR waitress, Stassi Schroeder, dated for “several months” in 2010 before cameras started capturing the Vanderpump Rules cast. The exes kissed again during a Season 5 episode, but never rekindled the flame.
Peter has also admitted to hooking up with then-SURver Katie Maloney before she started dating her now-ex-husband, Tom Schwartz, in 2011.
The Real Housewives of New York City cast member Brynn Whitfield admitted — during an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in August 2023 — to kissing Peter while she was in her 20s. (She was 36 at the time she said that.)
During a 2018 appearance on the Underwhelmed podcast, Peter admitted that he'd at that point had three failed relationships back-to-back.
“I haven’t settled down yet; that’s because one relationship, I don’t think she could handle it, so she accused me of cheating on her all the time, which was not true,” Peter explained. “The other one, she wasn’t ready, so it’s like, 'OK.' And then before that, Sarah — who was on the show — that was another [that didn’t work out]." (Sarah was Peter's girlfriend during Season 4; he infamously recruited Jax Taylor and Tom Schwartz to help him babysit her son.)
He later went out on one date with then-VPR cast member Rachel Leviss following her December 2021 split from James Kennedy. (She called him “a great starting pony to get back into the dating world” during a February 2023 episode of WWHL. His response: “I’m nobody’s starter pony,” he said on the Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend podcast in March 2023.)
During his December 2022 appearance on Jamie All Over, Peter explained that he’s actually “been seeing someone since October.”
Unfortunately, “There’s a rough patch going on,” he added. “So we’ll see what happens in the future, because I like her — I really like her — but I have different goals right now and she has different goals.”
It’s unclear if Peter is still dating this mystery woman, especially since his Instagram account doesn’t allude to him dating anyone at the moment.
Originally published Dec 28, 2022.
