Business

A new face is taking over at the original Phillips Crab House in Ocean City. The co-owner of Union Chesapeake Seafood House, Frank Raffo, announced Monday through a Facebook post that the business will be taking over operations at the 66-year-old establishment. While things may look different, Raffo promised the seafood house won’t stray far from founders Frank and Shirley Phillips’ seafood concept.

Dominiece Clifton had reached her breaking point. The 34-year-old was working three part-time jobs, raising two young girls with her entrepreneur husband, trying to be a dedicated wife and working to get her new Baltimore-based business off the ground. Tired of spreading herself thin and wondering if she’d be able to make her next mortgage payment, Clifton was ready to quit her dreams and go back to working a traditional 9-5 job. Then she got the call that changed her life: She’d won a no-strings-attached grant for $2,000 a month for one year.

Baltimore startup Minnowtech has raised over $1 million for the commercial product launch of its shrimp counting device, which is planned for April 22, co-founder Ken Malone said. Minnowtech will launch its shrimp biomass counter, the BRS-1, through a paid trial, with Minnowtech providing six months of free biomass readings and support to select partners. The company also offers partners a discount on the device, which resembles a small fire hydrant. After placing the device in the water, farmers are able to get statistics on the biomass of their shrimp.

Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna held home dedication ceremonies on March 25 for two “Habi-Tech” homes, which are houses built in partnership with technical high schools and completed by Habitat volunteers, while, Amazon volunteers helped in a wall raising ceremony for a duplex the company is sponsoring. The first ceremony was held for the house built by the students of the Harford Technical High School. Harford Tech has built nine such “Habi-Tech” homes for Habitat Susquehanna, seven of which are located in Aberdeen.

Noel Acton, the founder of a nonprofit that aims to help at-risk East Baltimore youth through sports, was named as one of three finalists for the National Hockey League’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award. The Tender Bridge was founded by Acton in 2003. According to the organization’s website, he has “devoted his life to helping at-risk kids see and understand the alternative choices they have in life.” The organization manages the Baltimore Banners, an ice hockey team based in Patterson Park.

The Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation has raised more than $26 million for the “Your Health, Our Mission: Caring for Our Families Together” campaign that launched in July 2017, according to a news release from University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health. The campaign is the most successful fundraising effort in the history of University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, according to a foundation spokesperson.

Diabetes health care startup Ryse Health has raised $3.4 million in seed funding, with plans to expand into two additional markets over the next two years.  The 11-person company opened its Baltimore location in March, its second after the opening of an Arlington, Virginia location last July. The main backer for Ryse Health was Pittsburgh-based W Health Ventures, which invested $2 million. The company was also accepted into the second cohort of the 1501 Health incubator this spring and has received funding from the incubator’s founders, LifeBridge Health and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

A popular retail center in Harford County has changed hands. The Festival at Bel Air shopping center was sold recently to an affiliate of McLean, Virginia-based Rappaport Properties for an undisclosed price. The seller was Dallas-based CH Realty Bel Air Festival LLC, according to state records. The complex last sold in 2014 for $113 million. The center is located off Route 24 and has anchors that include ShopRite, Marshalls, Burlington, Petco and Kohl’s. Of the 60 retail spaces, only about 11,000 square feet is vacant, Rappaport officials said Thursday.