Palisades Village to officially reopen on August 15

This is the news all Westside Angelenos have been waiting for. Palisades Village, the luxury shopping center founded by Rick Caruso, will reopen on August 15 after undergoing environmental remediation and structural repairs totaling more than $100 million, following the devastating Palisades fire in January 2025. 

“Following the heartbreaking fires of 2025, the Palisades community has worked tirelessly toward this moment of renewal,” said Caruso. “We promised to come back better than before the fires, and we did. This is a moment to turn the page together … It’s a comeback story for the history books and a love letter to L.A.”

The grand reopening marks a major milestone in the recovery of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, with the destination returning almost fully leased.

“The other day someone told me we should be low key about the Palisades Village reopening. My response? Nothing more important has happened in this city in decades than a community rising form the ashes,” said Caruso on his Instagram account. “Longtime local stores like Loomey’s Toys Store and K Bakery will reopen with us alongside favorites Elyse Walker and Angelini. We are leased 99%.”

The center will host over 40 retailers and dining spots. Among the new fashion stores set to join Palisade Village is Lest, a brand founded by Lili Chemla which will open its first store on the West Coast. The New York-based brand, known for its jersey ensembles and its casual yet sophisticated wardrobe, joins a lineup with a strong focus on contemporary fashion.

Other fashion brands will also be making their debut at Palisades Village, including Mother, the California-based denim brand founded by Lela Becker and Tim Keading; women’s label Xirena; denim and ready-to-wear brand Paige; and contemporary women’s brand A.L.C.

This collection of new stores will join those already present before the January 2025 fires, such as Elyse Walker, Anine Bing, Brunello Cucinelli, Golden Goose, Buck Mason, Zimmermann, Reformation, Toteme, Veronica Bread, Cult Gaia, and French brands Isabel Marant, Officine Générale, and Jacques Marie Mage.

Several beauty brands will also be present, such as Diptyque, Byredo, and Violet Grey, as well as the jewelry brand Jennifer Meyer. Finally, about ten dining options will complement the retail offerings, including Erewhon, K Bakery, the Italian restaurant Angelini, and the coffee shop Alfred.

Before Caruso arrived, downtown Pacific Palisades was an aging commercial district whose streets and stores had lost their appeal. The project created by  Caruso in the early 2010s aimed to revitalize this center without making it look like a shopping mall. Instead, the idea was to recreate a small, walkable coastal town, drawing inspiration from the architecture of Pacific Palisades and the villages along the California coast.

The project was designed after more than 100 meetings with residents. Caruso studied pedestrian-friendly towns and villages around the world to create a place that appears to have grown naturally over time: narrow streets, patios, landscaped areas, Coastal California-style facades, independent shops, and restaurants. Opened in 2018 with an estimated construction budget of over $200 million, Palisades Village brought together approximately 40 shops and dining spots around a green space and the Bay Theater.

The Bay Theater, a movie theater that opened in the 1940s, closed in 1978, and then reopened in 2010 as part of the opening of Palisades Village, will also reopen its doors at the same time as the shopping center.

The project was also particularly interesting because it epitomized the Caruso approach: not simply building a collection of stores, but creating a destination and a shared experience. Unlike a traditional enclosed mall, Palisades Village seeks to recreate the feel of a village center, where people come as much to run into their neighbors as to shop.

In addition to Palisades Village, Caruso, through his company Caruso, owns a substantial portfolio of other shopping centers in California, including The Commons in Calabasas (opened in 1998), The Grove (opened in 2002), Waterside in Marina del Rey (opened in 2005), and The Americana at Brand in Glendale (opened in 2008). Finally, like other shopping centers, Palisades Village includes private residences known as The Residences at Palisades Village, which are available for rent at an estimated average monthly rent of over $25,000.

The grand reopening on August 15 will feature a full day of community events, immersive experiences. Although it has not yet fully recovered from the 2025 fires, the Pacific Palisades neighborhood has nonetheless shown signs of revitalization over the past few years, notably with the reopening of nearby restaurants and public parks.