Business

Hotel workers at Baltimore’s downtown Hilton reached an agreement with the company for a new union contract after months of bargaining, picket lines and a one-day strike on Labor Day. The new four-year contract includes wage increases for non-tipped and tipped hotel workers and more funding for workers’ pension and health care funds, according to Unite Here Local 7 President Tracy Lingo.

Hercules Custom Iron will move its operation from Walkersville to the former Flying Dog Brewery building in Ballenger Creek. HCI, a division of Hercules Fence, does a wide variety of metal fabrication for commercial, industrial and residential clients. Adam McFadden, general manager of HCI, said the new location at 4607 Wedgewood Blvd. will enable the company to expand its capabilities in comparison to the current Walkersville facility.

Loyola University Maryland’s Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship awarded an investment of $20,000 from the Loyola Angel Fund to Keppel & Kismet, a startup business in Baltimore that manufactures and curates premium small-batch corporate and personalized gifts. Loyola established the Loyola Angel Fund, a $250,000 charitable fund, in 2021 to provide students with angel investment knowledge and experience and support local under-resourced entrepreneurs, especially Baltimore-based minority- and women-owned businesses.

The demand for cruises is still going strong — and it doesn’t appear to be letting up anytime soon. The industry was the last to recover from the Covid pandemic, but once it did, it has been enjoying strong pricing and booking momentum. While pricing growth is starting to normalize somewhat, it is still well above the rate of inflation, said Patrick Scholes, travel and leisure analyst at Truist.

Amazon Fresh is planting a flag in Greater Baltimore. The high-tech grocery chain will open Nov. 7 in Glen Burnie at 6711 Ritchie Highway with fresh produce, meats, seafood, prepared foods and pantry items. It will be the first Baltimore-area location of the brick-and-mortar grocery chain from Seattle-based Amazon — and will feature over 35 local and regional brands like Tessemae’s and True Made Foods.

The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund has issued a grant to Washington-based Regenerative Orthopedics & Sports Medicine (ROSM) for non-surgical orthopedic research, aimed at advancing treatments for partial-thickness rotator cuff tears using orthobiologic procedures. The two-year randomized, placebo-controlled trial, set to conclude in December 2026, will explore the efficacy of microfat stem cells in treating rotator cuff injuries, an issue that affects more than 2 million Americans annually.

A downtown restaurant space inside a hotel is getting new life. Redwood Charlie’s will take the place of the former Telltale Restaurant at the recently opened Sonesta Hotel Baltimore Inner Harbor at 1 E. Redwood St. Kim Pabst, the restaurant’s general manager, and her husband Bill, who will oversee the business behind the scenes, hope to open the restaurant next month.