Business

A third-generation Baltimore company changed hands last month in a deal spurred in part by decades-long friendships in the tight-knit beverage distribution industry. Bond Distributing Co., which was founded in 1950, sold at the end of the year to the Honickman, Origlio and Bergson Organization (HOBO), which is made up of the three eponymous families and focuses on beer distribution primarily in the northeast. The acquisition marks HOBO’s entrance into Maryland, where Bond distributes beer, wine and liquor to 3,000 retail customers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc. brokered the deal and Venable LLP provided legal counsel to Bond.

Stephen L. Snyder has his law license back. The federally indicted medical malpractice lawyer has been reinstated to the Maryland bar as of late Friday, when the state Supreme Court agreed to lift the suspension Snyder first consented to in October 2020. Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader wrote that a majority of the justices agreed there was no basis to continue Snyder’s suspension. “I’m emotionally thrilled to have been reinstated to the practice of law,” Snyder told The Daily Record. “I have always treasured my license and can’t wait to get started again.”

Inflation is easing, unemployment is low and the job market is strong — and most entrepreneurs believe a recession is on the way. About 61% of small-business owners expect a recession in the year ahead, according to JPMorgan Chase’s annual Business Leaders outlook survey. About 65% of midsize business owners expect a recession in 2023. Despite expectations for a recession, the survey found business owners remain bullish about their own companies’ prospects, with 72% of small-business owners and 66% of midsize business owners optimistic about 2023. Perhaps most importantly, additional surveys show many businesses projecting higher revenue and profits — a trend that could bode well in the months to come.

Under Armour Inc. stores will become testing sites for new retail shoe fitting technology, the latest effort to build market share in the growing athletic footwear market. Volumental, a shoe fitting technology company that is known for scanning feet to find the perfect shoe, recently announced an agreement with Under Armour to test its new self-service foot scanning technology at select retail stores and in outlets and brand houses. The deal comes a few months after Under Armour (NYSE: UAA) released its new SlipSpeed shoe and as a new CEO, Stephanie Linnartz, prepares to take charge with a mandate to get the company growing again after a tough few years. While Under Armour started out focusing on athletic apparel, the company is looking to grow in the athletic footwear market, the area that leads the athletic apparel industry.

University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center announced Tuesday that it is one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for 2023, according to new research released by Healthgrades, a marketplace connecting doctors and patients. This achievement puts UM St. Joseph Medical Center in the top 2% of hospitals nationwide for overall clinical performance across the most common conditions and procedures. This is the 4th consecutive year (2020-2023) UM St. Joseph Medical Center is among America’s Best. Healthgrades evaluated patient mortality and complication rates for 31 of the most common conditions and procedures at nearly 4,500 hospitals across the country to identify the top-performing hospitals.

West Nursery Cinemas, a staple in Linthicum for nearly 25 years, has “closed for business,” according to a message on the theater’s phone line. The theater, which opened as Hoyts West Nursery Cinema 14 in 1998, served Linthicum’s Airport Square Technology Park near BWI Marshall Airport for nearly a quarter century. On Tuesday, the theater’s website offered no future showtimes or movies coming soon. Messages sent to the theater’s social media pages were not returned. The 57,300-square-foot building opened to much fanfare at a cost of $8.5 million, The Baltimore Sun reported in March 1998.

Two graduates of the University of Maryland are back at Maryland sports games — but this time, instead of sitting in the stands, they’re offering rechargeable power banks that students can rent to charge their phones. The power banks are from JUUCE, a company founded by David Greenfield, who graduated in 2020 with a degree in finance and supply chain management, and Pouya Susanabadi, who graduated in 2019 with a dual degree in physiology and neurobiology and psychology.