Business

As German grocer Lidl closes one Baltimore-area store, another may finally be set to open. The discount grocery chain announced on Tuesday it was shuttering its store in Brooklyn Park in Anne Arundel County on Sunday because it was “underperforming.” However, early next year, the company is eyeing the grand opening of another local Lidl at 5950 Belair Road in Northeast Baltimore to replace a long-time independent market, spokesman Chandler Spivey said.

The Maryland Department of Commerce is set to grant $40 million to cannabis business owners who for a certain number of years have lived or attended school in communities where charges for possession of the drug have been disproportionately high. Beginning Aug. 1, eligible businesses that aren’t yet operational but are pre-approved for a license before Oct. 1, 2022, can apply for up to $5 million, which they can choose to receive as a lump sum or as a no-interest loan with a five-year term.

First Home Mortgage Corporation, a mortgage financing company, has announced the opening of a new branch office in Carroll County. Leading operations at the 2 Locust Lane, Westminster, location will be RL Kyker, a loan officer with more than 17 years of experience working in the Maryland community in mortgage finance.

Hotel workers at Baltimore Marriott Waterfront in Harbor East will get their first raises in more than two years and improved workplace rights under a newly ratified contract, the workers’ union announced Tuesday. The contract ends a labor dispute that started more than a year and a half ago. Under the collective bargaining agreement, the first full union contract since the food and beverage workers organized at the hotel in 2019, non-tipped workers get immediate hourly wage increases that range from $1.56 to $2.76, the union, Unite Here Local 7, said Tuesday.

Puttshack, an upscale miniature golf chain that combines high-tech putt putt courses and bars, will open inside The Whitney in Harbor East, an apartment complex being developed by Baltimore’s Chasen Cos. The luxury mini golf venue in the fast-developing Baltimore neighborhood will be the first in Maryland for the Chicago company, which launched a national expansion last year to cash in on the “competitive socializing” market.

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is a finalist in the 2023 America’s Best Restroom contest. The 22nd-annual contest, sponsored by Cintas Corp., celebrates businesses that develop and maintain innovative restroom facilities, according to a statement released by the airport. BWI-Marshall is the only airport among the contest finalists. Other finalists include highway rest areas, restaurants, tourist destinations and private companies.

Meal kit and food delivery company Home Chef has opened a new manufacturing and distribution center in Baltimore, its first location on the East Coast. The facility in Wagner’s Point in South Baltimore will add about 600 jobs to Baltimore, said Home Chef chief operating officer Scott Fratzke at a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday.