Business

Pandora plans to reduce its space in downtown Baltimore — and take its name off the city skyline — as the company finalizes the move of its North American headquarters to New York City. The Danish jewelry giant announced earlier this month that it will move into 27,000 square feet in the 1540 Broadway building in Times Square in early 2023. While it will keep its Baltimore office at 250 W. Pratt St., Pandora plans to downsize this spring to just 18,237 square feet and take its name off the tower but will stay in the city until at least 2026, a company spokesperson said. Pandora previously had 250 employees and occupied nearly 90,000 square feet in the building, where it has been located since 2015 when it moved its headquarters from Columbia.

A former Baltimore Convention Center executive who worked under its longtime executive director is returning to the city to take over the center’s top post. Matthew “Mac” Campbell is leaving the Strathmore in North Bethesda to fill the executive director role left vacant by the September retirement of Peggy Daidakis, who led the Convention Center since 1986 and served as Campbell’s mentor. Mayor Brandon Scott on Tuesday announced the nomination of Campbell for the city-owned and operated facility. Campbell’s nomination must be approved by the City Council. Campbell takes over at a challenging time for the convention industry, with business still trying to pick up after Covid-19 put an end to conventions and meetings nationally for almost two years.

Inside Firaxis Games, developers for the Sparks-based studiohave already wrapped up work on their latest video game, Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Employees shuffle through a sprawling campus that includes everything from a pool table to a weight room as well as all of the tabletop games and consoles you’d imagine inside a studio that’s been around for more than 25 years.

The owners of Papi Cuisine continue to expand their business with plans to open a new restaurant in downtown Baltimore helmed by a former White House chef. Berry Clark and Alex Perez, who co-own the Afro-Latin fusion restaurant Papi Cuisine in South Baltimore and a soon-to-open location in Owings Mills, will be opening a third restaurant called Prim & Proper Cocktail & Wine Bar at 206 E. Redwood St. The historic building next door to Chesapeake Shakespeare Co. was previously home to French restaurant Chez Hugo and French-American restaurant LoCal, which closed in August.

A controversy is now roiling a part of the Hampden neighborhood. A developer wants to level a secluded 1930 industrial property and replace it with a six-story apartment house, complete with parking and a swimming pool Added to the drama is a stout brick chimney that once served the old clothing factory’s boiler. It’s a tall smokestack where thousands of migrating chimney swifts swoop and spend the night in the late summer and again in the spring. Come morning, they take off.

Many small-business owners haven’t taken a break in 2022 or longer, and 2023 is filled with potential hurdles. About 40% of small business owners surveyed by FreshBooks said they had not taken time off in more than a year. About half of small-business owners say taking time off stresses them out and 85% said that even when they do take time off from work, they continue to check in. It’s a trend that could have significant implications. A 2021 survey by the International Business Brokers Association found burnout was becoming a major factor for owners selling their businesses. But, despite concerns about burnout and mental health, signs don’t point to those metrics improving in 2023 due to recession fears and an uncertain economy. About half of small-business owners said the reason they don’t take time off is a fear of losing income, and that’s showing during the holiday season.