retail<\/a> footprint as Chemla, who recently relocated to L.A. from New York, deepens her ties to the city.<\/p>\n\n\t\u201cThe whole opportunity feels so much bigger than just opening a store,\u201d said Chemla. \u201cThere\u2019s a real sense of optimism and rebuilding happening right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Dierdre](\"https:\/\/wwd.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-wwd-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tDierdre Roffoni and Tony Graham<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMichael Buckner\/WWD<\/p>\n
\n\tXirena cofounders Dierdre Roffoni and Tony Graham echoed the sentiment.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe rebuilding of the Palisades and the community played a big part in our decision to open here, especially for our first store,\u201d Graham said. \u201cThere was a connection to that momentum of rebuilding and renewal that made it feel like a great opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tViolet Grey, the luxury beauty retailer, is also expanding with a second L.A. outpost at Palisades Village.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe kind of immediately, really proactively said to Caruso, \u2018We want to be here. We\u2019re in it for the long haul,\u2019\u201d said Violet Grey\u2019s chief executive officer Sherif Guirgis. \u201cWhen I tell people that we\u2019re coming here, everyone just feels excited \u2014 not just because we\u2019re coming, but because real companies and brands are betting on the Palisades.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFor 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.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cEveryone\u2019s rooting for each other,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever been stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe rebuilding has unfolded against a backdrop of personal loss and challenges.<\/p>\n
\n\tErik 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 caf\u00e9 concept and a broader assortment across men\u2019s and women\u2019s categories, creating more space for customers to linger and connect.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tPaige Adams-Geller<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMichael Buckner\/WWD<\/p>\n
\n\tPaige 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt has been a treacherous six years for our family in general, but our business has still seen growth,\u201d Adams-Geller said. \u201cBetween COVID-19, fires and tariffs, I can tell you, I feel like I\u2019ve aged 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMother cofounder Leila Becker also evacuated for about two months in the aftermath of the fires while remediating her home. Her children\u2019s school burned down, classmates relocated and much of the community around her was displaced.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s never not a shock,\u201d Becker said of driving through the neighborhood. \u201cBut we\u2019re not going to stop believing in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tJackie Levy<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMichael Buckner\/WWD<\/p>\n
\n\tBefore the fires, roughly 70 percent of Palisades Village\u2019s visitors came from outside the area\u2019s 90272 ZIP code, according to Caruso, drawing shoppers from across L.A. Jackie Levy, Caruso\u2019s chief financial and revenue officer, said those figures helped reassure retailers weighing whether to return.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThey realize that there is a huge opportunity here,\u201d Levy said. \u201cThere\u2019s a huge void.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe work is also personal.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI have two kids that go to school at Pacific Palisades High School, my son plays baseball there, lost his baseball field,\u201d Levy said. \u201cSo, I feel a deep obligation and responsibility to do the right thing for this community and be the town center.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re trying to bring back a sense of normalcy,\u201d Caruso said. \u201cPeople need places where they can connect, see each other and feel like their community still exists.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than a year after wildfire tore through Pacific Palisades, the lawns at Palisades Village are green again.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[54379,48,52,51,47,50,49,1969],"class_list":["post-361060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-caruso","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-retail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}