Billionaire developer Rick Caruso is urging businesses to return to Pacific Palisades, using the successful reopening of his Palisades Village shopping center as proof that the community is ready for commercial recovery.
In a video posted to X on Tuesday, Caruso encouraged property owners and major retailers to "look forward with confidence" and invest in the neighborhood. He stated that their return could inspire homeowners to rebuild and move back into the community.
"We need to take the lead and show our confidence, and everybody else is gonna benefit from that in rebuilding their homes and moving back in the neighborhood," Caruso said. He specifically called out supermarkets Ralphs and Gelson’s on X, expressing the community's need for a "traditional market."
Both Gelson’s and Ralphs have indicated intentions to rebuild their Pacific Palisades stores. Gelson’s announced in March plans to reconstruct its store at 15424 Sunset Blvd., its long-standing location, though no timeline has been established.
Palisades Village, which underwent a more than $100 million restoration, reopened on August 15, 2026. The shopping center sustained significant smoke, ash, and water damage from the January 2025 Palisades Fire, necessitating extensive repairs to its buildings, kitchens, and infrastructure. The center is now 99% leased, with over 40 businesses returning or opening, including roughly one-third of new tenants. Among the returning businesses are Erewhon, Blue Ribbon Sushi, and Buck Mason, while fire-displaced businesses like K Bakery and Loomey’s Toys have found new spaces. Additional retail and dining establishments, including Spacca Tutto by chef Nancy Silverton, are slated to open in the coming months.
Caruso also appealed to neighboring commercial property owners to maintain their vacant lots, asking them to "clean up the property and clean up the weeds and sweep things out and make it look nice." He emphasized that residents are currently living, shopping, and gathering in the Palisades and that a unified effort is needed to support the community.
The Palisades Fire destroyed over 6,800 structures, including thousands of homes. While more than 1,000 homes are under construction, only a portion have been completed and reoccupied. Caruso described the reopening of Palisades Village as a significant but incomplete step in the community's recovery, stating, "We are in the middle of a recovery, and this is one chapter. It’s a mega-step, no doubt, but there’s many more mega-steps to come."
