Business

An Annapolis business owner, one of many still feeling the impact from the massive flooding left by Tropical Storm Debby, is calling on the city to take action before a major storm hits. Sveinn Storm, owner of Storm Brothers Ice Cream along Annapolis’s City Dock for 48 years, says the city focuses on damage control after the storm has passed rather than getting a head start.

One of Greater Baltimore’s fastest-growing public companies is partnering with the firm behind the popular gunshot detection software ShotSpotter to continue its expansion into law enforcement. Columbia-based Rekor Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: REKR) is blending its license plate recognition technology with SoundThinking Inc.’s ShotSpotter gunshot detection product.

The next phase of a long-struggling development in West Baltimore is imperiled yet again. La Cité Development was supposed to break ground on an age-restricted apartment complex for older adults this year. Instead, the developer missed a key financing deadline. Now, a Boston-based firm is suing to claw back its $13.1 million investment — and take control of the project.

An entrepreneur’s journey can be lonely, but Brittany Veney doesn’t believe it has to be. In fact, Veney, 34, started B. Real Creative Studio with the intention of working with other business owners. She creates unique brand identities, providing anything from logos and style guides to social media templates and websites. “I recognize the challenge of the everyday nine-to-fiver who has a dream or a passion but feels like they simply don’t have the time or the resources,” she said. “I am that resource to do the task they don’t have time for so they can see their dreams come true.”

Howard County is set to begin its Restaurant and Craft Beverage Weeks on Monday, and this year’s event will feature over 50 participating locations. The event starts Aug. 12 and lasts until Aug. 25. Restaurants will have special menus for the occasion. A full list of participants can be found at the following website. “Summer Restaurant and Craft Beverages Weeks is a great opportunity to explore all that Howard County’s culinary scene has to offer,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said.

Jeffrey Barner has opened doors for guests at Baltimore’s Hilton Inner Harbor for the past 16 years — since the hotel opened after the city spent millions to finance its design and construction. It’s become increasingly hard for the bellman to offer a warm greeting, he said, when others doing the same job in nearby cities make at least $10 more per hour. Dozens of the hotel’s roughly 200 unionized workers gathered Friday and voted not to extend their contract with the city-owned Hilton as they push for wage increases and better working conditions.

Jerk At Nite built a following in Washington, D.C., with two restaurants but its path to establishing a presence up the road in Baltimore has seen its share of detours. The Jamaican restaurant first ventured into the city in 2021 with a location in the Rosemont neighborhood. Owners Kadeem Todd and Denville Myrie decided to close the location after about a year and move to another spot in Pigtown.