Business

The union for Southwest Airlines Co. pilots will open a Baltimore-area “strike center” as negotiations for a new contract continue. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, also known as SWAPA, will open a regional strike center in Columbia on Nov. 28, which will act as a centralized space for pilots if a strike occurs. The center’s opening comes ahead of a last attempt at negotiations with the assistance of the National Mediation Board on Nov. 30 and is the latest development after more than three years of contract talks.

Over the years, my overflowing pantry and refrigerator have become a running joke among friends — the shelves haphazardly jammed with condiments, spices and random ingredients. I blame my love of cooking, cookbooks and, of course, a themed dinner party. In Los Angeles, home for 21 years before moving to Baltimore last year, there was no ingredient I couldn’t find. Once, my husband and I went in search of a Turkish market to host an elaborate brunch, a nod to meals we enjoyed in Istanbul, where we were married.

For many, the day after Thanksgiving is reserved for recovery from a day filled with food, family, friends and football. But for others, it’s Black Friday — the perfect time to begin Christmas shopping and for businesses to get a boost in sales.But with more sales shifting online and an expectation that consumers are going to take a cautious approach to holiday shopping this year, Black Friday has lost some of its significance.

Employers and unions are getting fed up with the firms they have used for years to help control their spending on prescription drugs—because their costs keep soaring. Footwear retailer Foot Locker dropped UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx drug-benefit manager last year, while a Teamsters fund in Philadelphia recently reupped with its replacement for CVS Health’s Caremark. Among their frustrations: They are being told to cover costlier drugs even when less-expensive options are available.

High-speed magnetic levitating trains will whoosh through the Westport community in an underground tunnel as part of a recent legal settlement over property rights on the South Baltimore peninsula. Details of the settlement earlier this month in Baltimore City Circuit Court were kept confidential, but both sides confirmed the tunnel plan to the Baltimore Business Journal.

Titan Hospitality Group will open a restaurant in North Baltimore next year, marking its first expansion into the city. The Anne Arundel County-based group will open a restaurant called The Barn & Lodge within the Rotunda development in Hampden, Titan CEO James King said Tuesday. The move into the North Baltimore center owned by MCB Real Estate is the latest expansion for Titan, which reopened a restaurant in Annapolis this week and started construction on another in Columbia.

Mark Anthony Thomas has basked in the limelight of Baltimore winning a federal tech hub designation long enough. The CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee says there’s plenty of work to do before Baltimore can capture the millions of dollars in federal investment the program can generate for the region’s economy. Thomas got a taste of the national spotlight as he introduced President Joe Biden at the White House during an Oct. 23 tech hub announcement in which the president gushed about how $10 billion in federal grants could impact cities like Baltimore.

Liquor connoisseurs and retailers might have a reason to be thankful if they claim one of the limited whiskey lotteries available from the Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS). ABS, the sole source of retail liquor sales in the county, will open registration Dec. 3 for the opportunity to purchase highly sought-after spirits, including Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year, Old Forester 2022 Birthday Bourbon and several rare releases from the Willett Distillery.