Business in brief - Feb. 1, 2021

recently opened its newest location in Short Pump at 10877 West Broad Street. It is the fourth franchise location for owner Marshall Whaling. The company has more than 850 locations worldwide. Whaling has more than 40 years of experience in the retail industry and has overseen the operations of 700 Best Buy and 600 Circuit City store locations at various points in his career. He also served as CEO of the largest independent full-service furniture retailer in the United States. The store offers a variety of repair services, from broken buttons and cracked screens to water damage and faulty batteries on smartphones, tablets, laptops and computers.

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce recently elected Alan Witt, CEO emeritus of PBMares, to serve as the 2021 chair of the Board of Directors. Witt has served as a member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors since 2016 and as a member of the Executive Board since 2017. Additional executives to join the Board include: Fred Thompson, Thompson Hospitality – first vice chair; Paige Clay, Mercer – immediate past chair; and Linda Stanley, Bank of America – treasurer.

At large officer positions were assigned to Gil Bland, The GilJoy Group; Ben Davenport, First Piedmont Corporation; Robert Duvall, Virginia Natural Gas; Tammy Finley, Advance Auto Parts, Inc.; Chris Kyle, Shentel; Stewart Leeth, Smithfield Foods; Mike Melo, ITA, LLC; Jennifer Siciliano, Inova Health System; Eric Sisco, Virginia International Gateway, Inc.; and Lakshmi Williams, Transurban.

New members to the full Board of Directors include: Nicole Barranco, Volkswagen Group of America; Susan Dewey, Virginia Housing; Terry Ellis, Comcast; Teresa Hammond, Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism; Donald “Blue” Jenkins, WGL Holdings, Inc.; Ryan Jensen, Henrico Doctors’ Hospital; Matthew McQueen, Peraton; Charlene H. Mowery, Red Hat; Matthew Rash, Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc.; Doug Wagoner, LMI; Jack L. White, FH&H PLLC; and Robert “Bob” Wills, The Branch Group.

The Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation recently awarded $500,000 in grants to fund education, prevention and delivery of care initiatives for six Virginia safety-net providers. CrossOver Healthcare Ministry in Henrico County received a grant for $100,000. Grant funding will support increases in staffing and resources, expanded access and services for high-risk patients and the development of school-based programs to help eradicate childhood dental diseases, particularly in rural areas of the Commonwealth.

Taylor Long Properties recently announced the following lease transactions in Henrico County: HAMM Transport LLC – leased 4,800 SF at 2101 Decatur Street (Robert Marshall represented the tenant); Ion Solar LLC – renewed its lease of 1,000 SF at 3894 Old Williamsburg Road (Robert Marshall represented the landlord); and Planet Hair Inc. – leased 1,200 SF at 2208 John Rolfe Parkway (Ellen Long represented the tenant).

Cortex Duo LLC recently purchased a 2,816 SF condo located at 10138 W. Broad Street from 10138 West Broad Street LLC for $460,000. Ellen Long of Taylor Long Properties represented the seller.

Mercedes-Benz of Richmond in Henrico County and Mercedes-Benz of Midlothian recently purchased $30,514 in gift cards to 30 locally-owned restaurants during the fourth quarter promotion to celebrate the dealerships’ 60th anniversary. Anyone who purchased a vehicle from either dealership in October, November or December received a $100 gift card to a Richmond-area restaurant that was recommended by employees, customers and the public. Buyers also could choose to make a $100 contribution to FeedMore instead of getting a gift card, which has resulted in donations to the food bank of $15,700. The RVA restaurants chosen by employees, customers and the public for support by the Mercedes-Benz dealerships included: Demi’s Mediterranean Kitchen Spoonbread BistroNatalie’s Taste of Lebanon, Moore Street Café, Rowland’s Lunch. Supper!, Hogshead Café Stella’s, Mama Cucina Millie’s Diner, Sergio’s Pizza, Belle Greek Authentic Grill, Flyin’ Pig Wild Ginger, The Grill at Waterford Tarrant’s Café, Zorba’s Portico, Buzz and Ned’s Real BBQ, Red Salt Chophouse and Sushi, The Boathouse Qui’s Café, Tazza Kitchen, La Cucina, Ma Michele’s Café, The Hard Shell, Angelo’s Italian Southbound, Pescados Seafood and The Brick House Diner.

Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer recently announced the following lease transactions in Henrico County: Hibbett Sporting Goods, Inc. – leased 4,454 SF of retail space at Glen Lea Centre, 3800-3824 Mechanicsville Turnpike; H&W Enterprises of N.C., LLC – leased 3,741 SF of industrial space at Staples Mill Business Center, 8209-8231 Hermitage Road; PM Building Maintenance Corp. – renewed its lease of 1,800 SF of office space at 5330-B Lewis Road; and New Beginning Support Services – leased 1,500 SF of office space at Parham East, 2201-2221 E. Parham Road.

HCA Virginia recently announced that Henrico Doctors’ Hospital is now listed as a certified Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation program through the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization. ELSO is a nonprofit consortium of health care institutions that are dedicated to the development and evaluation of new therapies for support of severe respiratory and cardiac organ failure.

Colliers International (Richmond) recently announced it has earned the 2021 Top Workplaces USA award issued by Energage, a purpose-driven organization that develops solutions to build and brand Top Workplaces. This is the inaugural year for Top Workplaces USA, built on the program’s 14-year history surveying more than 20 million employees across 54 markets for the regional Top Workplaces awards. Several thousand organizations from across the country were invited, and more than 1,100 participated in the Top Workplaces USA survey. Winners of the Top Workplaces USA list are chosen based solely on employee feedback gathered through an employee engagement survey, issued by Energage.