When Palisades Village reopens on Aug. 15, the first thing visitors will notice may be the new restaurants, curated storefronts and bustling sidewalks returning to one of Los Angeles’ most beloved neighborhoods.
Rick Caruso hopes they notice something else — Hope. Not the abstract kind found in speeches or ribbon-cutting ceremonies, but the tangible kind — the kind people can walk through, touch and experience after months of unimaginable loss. “Hope alone is just an empty promise unless there’s something tangible tied to it,” Caruso said. “By bringing back the Village, it becomes a tangible sign of hope.”
It’s an unusually personal way for one of Southern California’s most recognizable developers to describe the reopening of a retail destination. But then again, this story has never really been about retail. It’s about what happens when an entire community loses more than homes.
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. “I certainly experienced and saw in friends and family, the sorrow, the grief and the pain of losing a home,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Caruso said homes were only part of what disappeared. “You lose your school. You lose your park. You lose your church or synagogue,” he said. “Those are the communal things that really make a difference in somebody’s life.”
Disasters don’t simply erase buildings. They interrupt the rituals that quietly define everyday life — the neighborhood café, the walk to the park, the familiar faces seen each weekend, the places where communities gather and relationships are built.
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?
His answer was Palisades Village — while homes, schools and businesses continue to rebuild, the Village survived, it became something tangible – a place where millions of memories already existed, reminding residents not only what they lost, but what remains possible. “This is certainly not the end,” Caruso said. “It’s a chapter. We’ve got a lot more to do.”
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’t have fit the company’s expansion strategy. “After seeing what happened there the devastation, people losing their homes — I felt like it became our duty to help bring excitement and life back to that part of town,” Toll said. “John and I were both born and raised in Los Angeles. We grew up on the Westside. To us, that’s home.”
Within days of the fire, Caruso gathered employees from across his company. Marketing. Leasing. Finance. Operations. Everyone was processing the same tragedy. “Our mission became to come back better than it was the day before the fire,” he said. “Better than it was the day we originally opened.”
The philosophy wasn’t about replacing what existed, but honoring the past while building something stronger.
Over four decades, Caruso has developed some of Southern California’s 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’s 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.
Still, he’s 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. “No one can do it alone,” he said. “Cities need to be open to working with private organizations and companies. People with talent and resources should be leaning in.”
Listening to him describe the reopening of Palisades Village, it becomes clear he isn’t simply talking about real estate. He is talking about placemaking — 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.
One-third of the Village’s original tenants chose to return. Caruso’s team also focused on recruiting a new generation of retailers, restaurateurs and local entrepreneurs who could help define the next chapter.
One of his first calls was to renowned fashion retailer Elyse Walker, whose longtime Pacific Palisades boutique was destroyed in the fire. “When I called Elyse, I said, ‘Will you partner with me to bring back the city?’”
Walker became one of the project’s strongest advocates, helping recruit additional retailers while reinforcing Caruso’s belief that rebuilding begins with people willing to invest before certainty returns.
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’s Toys, a cherished neighborhood toy store that lost its original location in the fire. Caruso said such businesses as Loomey’s represent the heart of the Palisades, and without creative partnerships, many would never have been able to reopen. “They never would have been able to financially reopen on their own,” he said.
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.
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.
For Toll, the project has also reinforced lessons learned from working alongside Caruso. “He’s just the best at what he does,” Toll said. “The cleanliness, the attention to detail, the way he maintains his properties, but more importantly, the way he treats people.”
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. “It’s the same valet I’ve recognized there for nearly 20 years,” Toll said. “People love working for him. John and I try to emulate that – walking through the kitchen, thanking people, shaking hands. I’ve really learned that from him.”
Recovery, Caruso argues, isn’t measured simply by buildings reconstructed. It is measured by whether independent businesses reopen.
Whether entrepreneurs choose to invest, neighbors once again have somewhere to gather after Little League games, church services or a walk through town.
In many ways, recovery begins not when the last home is rebuilt, but when everyday life quietly returns.
Toll believes restaurants and gathering places help change perceptions. “People think of the Palisades today as a ghost town,” he said. “But 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.”
For Caruso, Palisades Village represents only one chapter of a much larger recovery. “This is one small part of the overall fix,” he said. “It’s been a very humbling experience. We’re optimistic, but humbled by the enormity of what happened.”