On Saturday, August 15, 2026, nineteen months after the fire, Palisades Village reopened. I have watched this neighborhood since long before I was selling in it, and I want to give you an accurate account rather than a celebratory one, because there is already a lot of loose information circulating about what is open down there.
The short version: the reopening is real and it matters, roughly seventy percent of the center opened that day, and several of the tenants people most want back are still months away.
What actually happened on August 15
The ribbon cutting was at 10:30am, stores opened at 11am, and the day closed with an evening finale at 8pm. Caruso has kept complimentary parking in place through September 30, 2026.
Behind that day sits more than $100 million in structural renovation and environmental remediation. Caruso's chief financial officer, Jackie Levy, said in July that the center is 99% leased, with the majority of tenants returning and nearly one third new to the property.
Rick Caruso, on opening day: "I don't know about you, but I have been waiting 19 months to say, welcome to Palisades Village." The day before, describing the work: "Every brick has been cleaned. Every storefront has been painted."
Councilmember Traci Park put the significance in the terms that matter to anyone thinking about coming home: "The fact that there are so many families here today supporting these local businesses just reinforces how committed this community is to getting home."
The part most coverage is getting wrong
Here is where I want to be genuinely useful rather than just enthusiastic.
Erewhon is not open yet. Caruso's own July press release lists Erewhon among returning tenants, and several outlets reported that as though the grocery anchor were back. It was not open on August 15 and it was still listed as coming soon in late August. Reporting points to a January 2027 return. If you are planning a move around having a full grocery anchor in the village, plan on next year.
The Bay Theater has no confirmed reopening date. It is listed as a returning tenant. Caruso's early August announcement referenced weekend programming "near Bay Theater," which is not the same as the theater screening films. I have not seen a schedule, and I am not going to tell you it is open when I cannot confirm it.
More broadly: while the center is 99% leased, only about 70% of businesses opened on August 15, with the rest following over the coming months. A lease is not an open door.
What was open on day one
On the retail side: elysewalker, whose 7,860 square foot flagship anchors the return, along with Towne by elysewalker, Anine Bing, A.L.C., Buck Mason, Leset, Jennifer Meyer, Misa, Violet Grey, Paige, Reformation, Brandy Melville, Byredo, Diptyque, Golden Goose, Isabel Marant, Officine Generale, Veronica Beard and Zimmermann.
For food and drink: Alphabet Bar and Grill, Alfred, Angelini, Blue Ribbon Sushi with its new Ueki omakase counter, K Bakery, McConnell's and Porta Via.
What is still coming
Confirmed but not yet open as of late August: Brunello Cucinelli, Cult Gaia, Jacques Marie Mage, Mother, Staud, Toteme, TWP, Xirena, Spacca Tutto, Erewhon and Carla Cafe.
So the village you walk through this autumn is a real, functioning retail center, and it is not yet the finished article. Both things are true.
What the center actually went through
There is a persistent belief that Palisades Village came through the fire untouched. That is half right, and the half that is wrong matters.
The structures survived. The interiors did not. Portions of the property had to be stripped back to framing, with walls, insulation and air conditioning ducting replaced, before anything could reopen. That is a large part of where the hundred million dollars went.
Caruso has credited three things for the buildings surviving at all: the private firefighters the company hired, the water tenders they brought in, and the noncombustible materials used when the center was built in 2018. The private firefighting decision drew criticism at the time and it is fair to note that, but the construction point is the one worth carrying forward. Materials decided outcomes. Anyone rebuilding a home in this zone should sit with that.
What this actually signals for the neighborhood
I want to be careful here, because this is where a lot of real estate commentary overreaches.
A reopened commercial core is a genuine milestone. It gives returning families somewhere to buy a coffee, eat a meal and see their neighbors, and those are the things that make a neighborhood feel inhabited again rather than under construction.
But the commercial recovery is running well ahead of the residential one. As of early September 2026, roughly 1,200 Palisades addresses hold an issued permit for a new home, and about 45 have received a certificate of occupancy. The village is open. The houses around it are, for the most part, still being built. I go through those numbers in detail in my Pacific Palisades rebuild status update.
Outside the center, recovery on the surrounding blocks is slower and more uneven. The historic Pacific Palisades Business Block at Sunset and Swarthmore, which housed a bank, a Starbucks and several restaurants, was destroyed and has no announced rebuild. Some Via de la Paz buildings were spared and are back in operation.
So if someone tells you the Palisades is back, the honest answer is that its commercial heart is back, ahead of schedule relative to the housing, and the neighborhood around it is still in the middle of the longest part of the job.
Let's talk
If you are weighing a return to the Palisades, holding a lot, or looking at the market here from the outside, the reopening changes the texture of the neighborhood in ways worth understanding before you decide anything. For the residential side of the picture, read this alongside my Pacific Palisades after the fire update and the current Pacific Palisades community guide.
Reach out to me or call 310.595.5181. I'm a Compass Broker Associate with Antola Coastal Group, RealTrends Verified in the top 1.5% nationally, and a lifelong Westsider walking clients through this market as it changes week to week.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Palisades Village reopen?
Palisades Village reopened on Saturday, August 15, 2026, nineteen months after the January 2025 Palisades Fire. The ribbon cutting was at 10:30am and stores opened at 11am.
Is Erewhon open at Palisades Village?
Not yet. Erewhon is confirmed as a returning tenant and appears on Caruso's tenant list, but it had not opened as of late August 2026. Reporting points to a January 2027 return. Several outlets reported it as open, which is incorrect.
How much of Palisades Village is actually open?
The center is 99% leased, but only about 70% of businesses opened on August 15, 2026, with the remainder opening over the following months. Brunello Cucinelli, Cult Gaia, Jacques Marie Mage, Mother, Staud, Toteme, TWP, Xirena, Spacca Tutto, Erewhon and Carla Cafe were all still to come as of late August.
Did Palisades Village burn in the Palisades Fire?
The structures survived, but the interiors were badly damaged. Portions of the property were stripped back to framing and had walls, insulation and air conditioning ducting replaced. The rebuild ran to more than $100 million in structural renovation and environmental remediation.
Why did Palisades Village survive when so much around it did not?
Caruso has credited the private firefighters the company hired, the water tenders they brought in, and the noncombustible construction materials used when the center was built in 2018.
Does the reopening mean the Palisades has recovered?
The commercial core has reopened well ahead of the residential rebuild. As of early September 2026, about 1,200 Palisades addresses held an issued new-home permit and roughly 45 had received a certificate of occupancy. The village is open; most of the housing around it is still under construction.