Once obscured by smoke and ashes from the January 2025 wildfires, the sun is shining bright again on the newly rebuilt Palisades Village, which reopened Aug. 15 with almost a full house of fashion boutiques, restaurants and entertainment options.
The grand reopening, drawing thousands of visitors and featuring celebratory events from morning to dusk, came after owner Rick Caruso poured $100 million into repairs and renovations for the smoke-damaged outdoors mall. Shops were revamped, new businesses came to the compound, flowers were repotted and ice cream was given out. As Caruso cut the ribbon, five jets flew overhead to roaring cheers.
“I always called it like living inside a Norman Rockwell picture, and then a nuclear bomb hit,” Caruso said during the ceremony. “But no matter what happened, no matter the losses, the heartache and the pain that my family felt along with yours in Los Angeles, we always knew that we would be back. So, my message to you today is thank you.”
Moments after the ribbon-cutting, shoppers poured into the 40-plus stores, which included returning tenants such as Erewhon and Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill, and new partners such as chef Nancy Silverton’s celebrated Italian steakhouse Spacca Tutto. The opening day attracted more than three times in visitation compared to levels before the January wildfires, and several retail tenants reached their monthly sales forecast by midday.
According to Corinne Verdery, chief executive of Caruso’s namesake real estate company, 99% of the mall was leased, with one-third occupied by new businesses. One of them is Leset, hailing from New York’s chic Bleecker Street. Nestled in the heart of the village, the boutique represents the luxury basics brand’s first West Coast location.
“Everything (Palisades Village) stands for is very much what Leset stands for. They are about community. They are about bringing people together,” Alex Basch, Leset’s chief operating officer, told the Business Journal. “We’re really proud to be a part of this opening.”
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Rebuilding effort
The return of Palisades Village mirrors ongoing rebuilding progress in the region. Nearly 6,800 structures burned and 12 lives were lost in Pacific Palisades, but the neighborhood is making a sure recovery. The Palisadian-Post reported that renovation has begun on 1,000 homes by Aug. 12, and 35 primary residences have received certificates of occupancy as of Aug. 13, according to the Pali Rebuild Map. The map’s creator, Palisades native Kevin Pazirandeh, said the number of completed homes would likely increase later this year and early next.
Long-term residents and business owners have also returned. Fashion designer Elyse Walker, who first opened her namesake flagship on Antioch Street in 1999 before moving into the village with her new brand Towne in 2018, was one of those that came back after her store was destroyed in the fire. Towne would look and feel the same as before, but her eponymous boutique would have a new look by interior design company Janson Scuro.
“We hope that our enthusiasm and commitment will help heal and inspire more families to come back, rebuild, and move on back to the Palisades,” Walker said. “For us, there simply is no other place we would rather be.”
