Rick Caruso was joined by family, friends, colleagues and Pacific Palisades residents at the Palisades Village reopening celebration on Aug. 15. (photo by Tabor Brewster)

Nearly 19 months after the Palisades Fire devastated the community, thousands of residents returned to Palisades Village on Aug. 15 to celebrate the reopening of a gathering place that owner Rick Caruso hopes will help propel the Pacific Palisades into the next phase of its recovery.

Following an extensive $100 million restoration, the Caruso-developed shopping and dining destination officially reopened with a morning ribbon cutting and a day of festivities that culminated in an evening celebration featuring musicians, actors and local performers.

“The opening of Palisades Village is one megastep in the recovery of the Pacific Palisades, but many more to go,” Caruso founder and executive chairman Rick Caruso said. “Today, we plant a flag. Let’s bring this community back quickly, better and more meaningful than ever before.”

The Village had been closed since the January 2025 fire displaced thousands of residents, destroyed homes and businesses and transformed large portions of Pacific Palisades.

Speaking with reporters after the ribbon cutting, Caruso said he hopes seeing the Village bustling with residents again will provide momentum for people who remain uncertain about rebuilding.

“I think this is a catalyst,” Caruso said. “I’m praying … that there’s going to be some sort of contagious enthusiasm for saying, ‘You know what, I may have been on the fence about rebuilding. It’s a pain in the butt to rebuild. I’ve got a lot of challenges to rebuild, but I’m going to go do it now because I feel like I’ve got a place to come. I feel like I want to be with my community again.’”

But significant obstacles remain for residents trying to return. Asked what rebuilding challenges he has heard most frequently from residents, Caruso pointed to insurance.

“Insurance is at the top of the list,” he said. “So many people are hampered by their ability to get the right insurance, and I really call upon the governor, the state of California. They’ve got to go start paying out under the FAIR Plan, and let’s get people back in their homes and not arguing about a couple dollars here and there.”

Caruso said restoring commercial amenities is another important part of bringing residents back and encouraged other businesses and property owners in the Palisades to reopen.

“I’m encouraging my fellow commercial owners to lean in and open up,” he said. “They should lead the way, not follow the way. We have more than enough customers here.”

Palisades Village reopened 99% leased, with approximately one-third of its businesses new to the property, according to Caruso. Returning businesses include elysewalker, Erewhon, Zimmermann, Veronica Beard and Blue Ribbon Sushi, while new additions include Spacca Tutto, an Italian steakhouse from chef Nancy Silverton, LESET, Violet Grey and Xirena.

“Today is more than reopening a destination. It is a celebration of the spirit and future of the Pacific Palisades and of the people who make it special,” Caruso CEO Corinne Verdery said.

Caruso said the restoration included gutting building interiors down to the wood, treating and testing the underlying materials with environmental engineers and rebuilding the spaces. The property was also repainted and cleaned, with new landscaping installed.

“We were very careful about it because we want everybody to come back and feel very safe and secure,” he said.

For Caruso, the recovery is also personal. He said his family lost three homes in the fire, making the reopening an emotional milestone.

“Everybody went through their own sense of mourning, and at the same time, we had to be strong and say we’ve got to stand up and go lead this recovery as best we can,” Caruso said.

The morning ribbon cutting was led by Caruso, Verdery and business owner Elyse Walker, who reopened Towne by elysewalker and debuted a new elysewalker flagship at the Village.

“There was never any doubt that the Palisades would come back stronger than ever, and we hope that our enthusiasm and commitment will help heal and inspire more families to come back and rebuild,” Walker said.

The festivities culminated that evening with a celebration featuring Anthony Hopkins, Kate Hudson, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Ryan Tedder and other performers. An 85-piece Hollywood Film Orchestra conducted by William Ross performed a medley of John Williams film scores, and Hopkins introduced the U.S. premiere of his composition “Fanfare and March.”

Local performers, including the Palisades Charter High School Choir and students from Village School, also participated in the program, which concluded with a photo collage featuring memories submitted by residents.

With Palisades Village officially open, Caruso said attention will turn to other pieces of the community’s recovery. He said work on a park through Steadfast LA, a nonprofit he founded after the fire, will begin in September and cited efforts to reduce homebuilding costs and support residents attempting to rebuild.

“There’s a dozen things we’re working on,” he said.

Asked whether he sees the restored Village as a “third space” where residents can gather outside of their homes and workplaces, Caruso offered a different description.

“I hope it’s actually their living room,” he said. “As long as they feel at home here, then we’re doing our job.”

Palisades Village is located at 15225 Palisades Village Lane.

For information, visit palisadesvillageca.com.