Palm Beach Daily News / The Shiny Sheet: “Royal Poinciana Plaza in Palm Beach to hold official opening today”

The Royal Poinciana Plaza is officially back.

After years of preparation and work, the ribbon will finally be cut at the revamped plaza today in the area many are hoping will become the new anchor for Palm Beach’s north entrance and original Main Street. The invitation-only event will take place at 5 p.m. in the east courtyard.

“Today marks the day that we welcome a new generation of memories to The Royal Poinciana Plaza,” said Samantha David, head of Up Markets.

And that new generation comes with a laundry list of new businesses.

The two latest ones to open this week are Italian motor scooter shop Vespa and French Luxury retailer Hermès.

Other openings in the last month include: Assouline, Beach, Bognar & Piccolini, Celis Produce, Cremieux, Cynthia Rowley, Magasin, Odile de Changy, Orlebar Brown, Palm Beach Bicycle Trail Shop, Rani Arabella, Serenella, St. Frank, Valentina Kova, and Virginia Philip Wine, Spirits & Academy.

But the new businesses don’t stop there. There are about a dozen more that are targeting openings in December and January including the Destination Soul pop up from SoulCycle and the Palm Beach Grill spinoff Honor Bar.

Also coming are 100% Capri, Collective, Coyo Taco, Earth and Sugar, Kirna Zabête, Nail Lab, Paul Labrecque Salon and Spa, Saint Laurent and Theory.

Once all those businesses open, the plaza will feature a total of 48 permanent locations and two pop-up stores.

And there is still more to be done.

Town officials have continually reiterated a need to fill the Royal Poinciana Playhouse, which opened in 1958.

David urged the Town Council to be patient on the theater about six weeks ago. She called it “embarrassing” to be rolling out the new plaza without the anchor theater. But an unnamed potential tenant is still not ready to close the deal, she said.

In the meantime, it looks like the plaza will be allowed to hold outdoor events. The council expressed interest in allowing events outside, which has previously been prohibited. An official vote on the proposal could happen as soon as next month.

Up Markets will also be kicking off the holiday season Friday when it hosts a holiday decor reveal from 6 to 8 p.m. with a tree-lighting ceremony at 6:30 p.m.