Palisades Village Reopening Aug. 1 After Pacific Palisades Fires

More than a year after wildfire tore through Pacific Palisades, the lawns at Palisades Village are green again.

Construction crews have been moving in and out of storefronts stripped to their studs, racing toward a shared deadline. On Aug. 1, Palisades Village will reopen, WWD has learned exclusively.

The date has become more than a milestone for founder and executive chairman Rick Caruso‘s 100,000-square-foot shopping destination. In a neighborhood still rebuilding, it has come to symbolize the return of everyday life.

“We’re on a mission to bring back this city,” Caruso said during a tour of the property. “The way we reopen is a sign throughout the city that’s suffering in so many ways that we actually are resilient.”

Palisades Village closed immediately as the fires began, on Jan. 7, 2025. Though the center itself was largely spared, the community around it was devastated. Thousands of homes were destroyed, families scattered across Los Angeles and beyond, and businesses lost storefronts and years of investment overnight.

A Matter of Preparation

Caruso said the center’s survival was the result of preparation as much as circumstance. Palisades Village was built with wildfire resilience in mind when it opened in 2018, incorporating noncombustible materials and emergency protocols developed through years of operating outdoor shopping destinations in Southern California, including The Grove and The Americana at Brand. As the fires advanced, Caruso’s team deployed private water trucks and worked alongside first responders to help protect the property.

“You prepare for these moments long before they happen,” Caruso said. “When it came, everybody knew exactly what they had to do.”

Other businesses nearby weren’t as fortunate. Just across Sunset Boulevard, Mother’s first stand-alone store burned down days before it was set to open, after inventory had already been loaded in.

“We were going to open that Friday,” cofounder Tim Kaeding recalled. “It burned down two or three days before.”

Rather than abandon plans, Mother accepted an invitation to make a fresh start at Palisades Village. “We’re not going to let it stop us,” he said. “We’re going to try it again.”

Not every retailer made the same decision. Approximately half of Palisades Village’s original tenants will return when the center reopens, but others — including Aerin, Aesop, Lululemon and Saint Laurent — elected not to come back. The Draycott restaurant, meanwhile, had already announced its closure days before the fires.

“We recognized early on that the challenges and needs of each retailer were different,” Caruso said of those returning.

Those Coming Back

Among the original tenants set to welcome shoppers back are Paige, Buck Mason, Jennifer Meyer, Veronica Beard, Cynthia Rowley, Golden Goose, Brunello Cucinelli and Zimmermann. Elyse Walker, meanwhile, is relocating her namesake boutique to Palisades Village after operating across the street for nearly three decades, while Towne by Elyse Walker returns after being part of the center since its debut. Also returning are Erewhon, Angelini, Blue Ribbon Sushi and Hank’s, along with the Bay Theater, now operated by Netflix, its marquee reading: “IT TAKES A VILLAGE.”

Caruso worked with tenants individually, offering support ranging from temporary rent accommodations and permitting assistance to remediation coordination and operational guidance. A national marketing campaign is planned to drive traffic when the center reopens. In all, 46 businesses are expected to operate at Palisades Village.

“We’ve structured deals that help support retailers in different ways that they need it,” Caruso went on. “That doesn’t mean they’re not paying rent. Everybody’s paying rent, but we’re gonna be supportive. Especially for the independent, the smaller tenants, the young entrepreneurs that have opened up.”

Along with Mother and Nancy Silverton’s Spacca Tutto — the James Beard Award-winning chef’s first Westside restaurant — among the new tenants joining Palisades Village are Xirena and Leset, each arriving at a different moment in their growth.

For Xirena, launched in 2013 and known for its relaxed California aesthetic, the opening will mark the L.A.-based brand’s first stand-alone store. For Leset, founded by Lili Chemla in 2019 — offering elevated essentials and matching sets — it represents an expansion of its retail footprint as Chemla, who recently relocated to L.A. from New York, deepens her ties to the city.

“The whole opportunity feels so much bigger than just opening a store,” said Chemla. “There’s a real sense of optimism and rebuilding happening right now.”

Xirena cofounders Dierdre Roffoni and Tony Graham echoed the sentiment.

“The rebuilding of the Palisades and the community played a big part in our decision to open here, especially for our first store,” Graham said. “There was a connection to that momentum of rebuilding and renewal that made it feel like a great opportunity.”

Violet Grey, the luxury beauty retailer, is also expanding with a second L.A. outpost at Palisades Village.

“We kind of immediately, really proactively said to Caruso, ‘We want to be here. We’re in it for the long haul,’” said Violet Grey’s chief executive officer Sherif Guirgis. “When I tell people that we’re coming here, everyone just feels excited — not just because we’re coming, but because real companies and brands are betting on the Palisades.”

For Walker, that investment will be among the largest in Palisades Village. Before the fires, the Palisades represented roughly 45 percent of her business; several members of her team lost their homes, and longtime clients were suddenly dispersed. Now she returns with an 8,000-square-foot Elysewalker boutique.

“Everyone’s rooting for each other,” she said. “I don’t think we’ve ever been stronger.”

The rebuilding has unfolded against a backdrop of personal loss and challenges.

Erik Allen Ford, cofounder of Buck Mason, was among those whose home was destroyed in the fires. When the brand returns to Palisades Village, it will do so with an expanded store that introduces a café concept and a broader assortment across men’s and women’s categories, creating more space for customers to linger and connect.

Paige founder and creative director Paige Adams-Geller, a Pacific Palisades resident for nearly 15 years, moved five times with her family after the fires before returning home just before the holidays. Among their family’s homes in Pacific Palisades, theirs was the only one left standing. The Paige boutique was gutted as part of the remediation process and rebuilt ahead of reopening, while loyal customers followed the brand online and to stores in Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach and Santa Monica, she said.

“It has been a treacherous six years for our family in general, but our business has still seen growth,” Adams-Geller said. “Between COVID-19, fires and tariffs, I can tell you, I feel like I’ve aged 10 years.”

Mother cofounder Leila Becker also evacuated for about two months in the aftermath of the fires while remediating her home. Her children’s school burned down, classmates relocated and much of the community around her was displaced.

“It’s never not a shock,” Becker said of driving through the neighborhood. “But we’re not going to stop believing in this community.”

Before the fires, roughly 70 percent of Palisades Village’s visitors came from outside the area’s 90272 ZIP code, according to Caruso, drawing shoppers from across L.A. Jackie Levy, Caruso’s chief financial and revenue officer, said those figures helped reassure retailers weighing whether to return.

“They realize that there is a huge opportunity here,” Levy said. “There’s a huge void.”

The work is also personal.

“I have two kids that go to school at Pacific Palisades High School, my son plays baseball there, lost his baseball field,” Levy said. “So, I feel a deep obligation and responsibility to do the right thing for this community and be the town center.”

“We’re trying to bring back a sense of normalcy,” Caruso said. “People need places where they can connect, see each other and feel like their community still exists.”