Expand<\/a><\/p>\nRick Caruso hopes they notice something else \u2014 Hope. Not the abstract kind found in speeches or ribbon-cutting ceremonies, but the tangible kind \u2014 the kind people can walk through, touch and experience after months of unimaginable loss. \u201cHope alone is just an empty promise unless there\u2019s something tangible tied to it,\u201d Caruso said. \u201cBy bringing back the Village, it becomes a tangible sign of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an unusually personal way for one of Southern California\u2019s most recognizable developers to describe the reopening of a retail destination. But then again, this story has never really been about retail. It\u2019s about what happens when an entire community loses more than homes.<\/p>\n
For Caruso, the devastation was deeply personal. His daughter lost her home. His son lost his home. His family lost another home. Like thousands of Pacific Palisades residents, he witnessed firsthand the grief, uncertainty and disorientation that follows disaster. \u201cI certainly experienced and saw in friends and family, the sorrow, the grief and the pain of losing a home,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caruso said homes were only part of what disappeared. \u201cYou lose your school. You lose your park. You lose your church or synagogue,\u201d he said. \u201cThose are the communal things that really make a difference in somebody\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Disasters don\u2019t simply erase buildings. They interrupt the rituals that quietly define everyday life \u2014 the neighborhood caf\u00e9, the walk to the park, the familiar faces seen each weekend, the places where communities gather and relationships are built.<\/p>\n
Rather than focusing first on leasing, occupancy or retail sales, Caruso found himself asking a different question: What gives people the courage to come back?<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/LDN-L-VILLAGE-REOPEN-0809-DC-2.jpg\")
The village in Pacific Palisades on Friday, August 7, 2026. The shopping and dinning area will re-open next Saturday after being re-built from the Palisades Fire. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News\/SCNG)<\/p>\n
His answer was Palisades Village \u2014 while homes, schools and businesses continue to rebuild, the Village survived, it became something tangible \u2013 a place where millions of memories already existed, reminding residents not only what they lost, but what remains possible. \u201cThis is certainly not the end,\u201d Caruso said. \u201cIt\u2019s a chapter. We\u2019ve got a lot more to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sense of purpose is what convinced Brian Toll, co-founder and co-president of The h.wood Group, to bring Alphabet Bar & Grill to Palisades Village, despite acknowledging that before the fires, the location likely wouldn\u2019t have fit the company\u2019s expansion strategy. \u201cAfter seeing what happened there the devastation, people losing their homes \u2014 I felt like it became our duty to help bring excitement and life back to that part of town,\u201d Toll said. \u201cJohn and I were both born and raised in Los Angeles. We grew up on the Westside. To us, that\u2019s home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Within days of the fire, Caruso gathered employees from across his company. Marketing. Leasing. Finance. Operations. Everyone was processing the same tragedy. \u201cOur mission became to come back better than it was the day before the fire,\u201d he said. \u201cBetter than it was the day we originally opened.\u201d<\/p>\n
The philosophy wasn\u2019t about replacing what existed, but honoring the past while building something stronger.<\/p>\n
Over four decades, Caruso has developed some of Southern California\u2019s most recognizable destinations, including The Grove, Americana at Brand and Palisades Village. He ran against Karen Bass for mayor of Los Angeles, losing in the 2022 runoff vote. He\u2019s served as president of the Los Angeles Police Commission and head of the DWP commission, but waved off rumored campaigns for mayor or governor this year, after widespread speculation.<\/p>\n
Still, he\u2019s been busy amid the wildfire rebuild. Through Steadfast LA, the public-private partnership he helped launch, businesses, philanthropists and government agencies have worked together on recovery efforts. He believes partnerships like these should become a larger part of how Los Angeles approaches rebuilding, allowing public agencies and private organizations to combine resources, expertise and urgency in ways neither could accomplish alone. \u201cNo one can do it alone,\u201d he said. \u201cCities need to be open to working with private organizations and companies. People with talent and resources should be leaning in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listening to him describe the reopening of Palisades Village, it becomes clear he isn\u2019t simply talking about real estate. He is talking about placemaking \u2014 creating environments where people gather, build relationships and develop a shared sense of community. After disaster, those places become far more than commercial centers. They become anchors of recovery.<\/p>\n
One-third\u00a0of the Village\u2019s original tenants chose to return.\u00a0Caruso\u2019s team\u00a0also\u00a0focused on recruiting a new generation of retailers, restaurateurs and local entrepreneurs who could help define the next chapter.<\/p>\n
One of his first calls was to renowned fashion retailer Elyse Walker, whose longtime Pacific Palisades boutique was destroyed in the fire. \u201cWhen I called Elyse, I said, \u2018Will you partner with me to bring back the city?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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A police car guards access to the Village in Pacific Palisades in January 2025, which was largely spared by the fire by a private team of firefighters. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)<\/p>\n
Walker became one of the project\u2019s strongest advocates, helping recruit additional retailers while reinforcing Caruso\u2019s belief that rebuilding begins with people willing to invest before certainty returns.<\/p>\n
That philosophy also shaped how Palisades Village approached independent businesses. Rather than simply filling vacancies, Caruso said his team structured lease agreements specifically to help local operators return. Among them is Loomey\u2019s Toys, a cherished neighborhood toy store that lost its original location in the fire. Caruso said such businesses as Loomey\u2019s represent the heart of the Palisades, and without creative partnerships, many would never have been able to reopen. \u201cThey never would have been able to financially reopen on their own,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Village created opportunities that allow independent businesses to become profitable while rebuilding alongside the community ensuring that the next chapter of Palisades Village reflects not only nationally recognized brands, but also the local businesses that helped define the neighborhood long before the fire. The reopening itself reflects that commitment.<\/p>\n
Alongside an elevated collection of local retailers, Alphabet Bar & Grill, from The h.wood Group, will anchor the dining experience. Visitors will also find two James Beard Award-winning chefs within a single city block: Nancy Silverton, whose new restaurant Spacca Tutto joins the Village, and Timothy Hollingsworth, who will lead the culinary program at Alphabet Bar & Grill. Caruso says bringing chefs of this caliber together in one location underscores his vision of creating a destination that celebrates exceptional food, community and culture.<\/p>\n
For Toll, the project has also reinforced lessons learned from working alongside Caruso. \u201cHe\u2019s just the best at what he does,\u201d Toll said. \u201cThe cleanliness, the attention to detail, the way he maintains his properties, but more importantly, the way he treats people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toll recalls seeing Caruso at The Grove personally greeting guests, shaking hands with employees and never carrying himself as though he were above anyone else. \u201cIt\u2019s the same valet I\u2019ve recognized there for nearly 20 years,\u201d Toll said. \u201cPeople love working for him. John and I try to emulate that \u2013 walking through the kitchen, thanking people, shaking hands. I\u2019ve really learned that from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recovery, Caruso argues, isn\u2019t measured simply by buildings reconstructed. It is measured by whether independent businesses reopen.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/LDN-L-VILLAGE-REOPEN-0809-DC-10.jpg\")
The village in Pacific Palisades on Friday, August 7, 2026. The shopping and dinning area will re-open next Saturday after being re-built from the Palisades Fire. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News\/SCNG)<\/p>\n
Whether entrepreneurs choose to invest, neighbors once again have somewhere to gather after Little League games, church services or a walk through town.<\/p>\n
In many ways, recovery begins not when the last home is rebuilt, but when everyday life quietly returns.<\/p>\n
Toll believes restaurants and gathering places help change perceptions. \u201cPeople think of the Palisades today as a ghost town,\u201d he said. \u201cBut every week I drive through, I see more homes being rebuilt. People are coming back. We need to start getting back to what the Palisades will be.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Caruso, Palisades Village represents only one chapter of a much larger recovery. \u201cThis is one small part of the overall fix,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a very humbling experience. We\u2019re optimistic, but humbled by the enormity of what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Palisades Village reopens on Aug. 15, the first thing visitors will notice may be the new restaurants,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[387,7,383,643,48,52,51,1071,47,137,50,49,100,1839,420,136,535],"class_list":["post-427738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-business","tag-california","tag-economy","tag-environment","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-local-government","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-news","tag-palisades-fire","tag-things-to-do","tag-top-stories","tag-wildfires"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427738","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=427738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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