Palisades Village shopping center reopens, marking milestone for fire-weary community

The January 2025 wildfires that swept through Pacific Palisades wreaked devastation practically beyond belief, destroying more than 5,600 homes and businesses.

On Saturday, the Westside community marked a long overdue milestone for fire-weary residents: the reopening of the Palisades Village shopping center.

The 125,000-square-foot upscale mall, featuring shops, restaurants and a movie theater, survived the blaze but required renovations that cost its owner and developer Rick Caruso more than $100 million, including major infrastructure work.

“I have been waiting 19 months to say welcome to Palisades Village,” said Caruso, executive chairman of his eponymous company. “I’m not going to be blind here. We are in the middle of a recovery, and this is one chapter. It’s a mega step, no doubt, but there’s many more mega steps to come.”

Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village will reopen Aug. 15. About one-third of the businesses are new, and many tenants are returning to their shops.

The reopening was packed with shoppers, store owners and residents, who milled about the refurbished center and enjoyed free drinks and food offered from kiosks. Hyper upscale grocer Erewhon at the center will reopen in January.

The center draws customers not just from Pacific Palisades but from Brentwood, Malibu, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and even Calabasas.

The $200 million shopping center, which first opened in 2018, is 99% leased, with one-third of the shops are new, including an Italian steakhouse called Spacca Tutto by chef Nancy Silverton and women’s apparel retailer LESET.

Also opening a shop in the center is Pacific Palisades fashion designer Elyse Walker, who lost her 25-year flagship location on Antioch Street to the blaze.

“The past 20 months has proven to be one of the most challenging times in Los Angeles history, and yet here we are all together as a community to rally for a revival,” she said, during the grand opening event. “Today is truly a homecoming.”

Other Pacific Palisades shops that burned and relocated to the Village include K Bakery and Loomey’s Toys. Among the returning tenants is Angelini Ristorante & Bar run by prominent L.A. chef Gino Angelini.

Other businesses have been reopening outside the mall. Near the shopping center, there are homes and other businesses in various stages of reconstruction, some nearly complete, others with just framing or drywall.

Allison Holdorff Polhill, president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, who lost her home in the blaze, said that the community is steadily rebuilding but still has a long way to go.

Kehillat Israel, closed since the Palisades fire, reopened last week, welcoming its congregation, which includes 230 families who lost their homes and an additional 250 families who were displaced.