Atlas Restaurant Group hires globally renowned chef

Good morning Baltimore and happy Friday.

Ravens quarterback and MVP favorite Lamar Jackson will not play this weekend against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but there are still plenty of reasons to pay attention to NFL action.

As it stands, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Houston, Indianapolis and Buffalo can make the playoffs, meaning the Ravens' Divisional Round game on Jan. 20 or 21 is still very much up in the air.

Best of luck to the Birds this weekend; us Giants fans are just waiting for next year's draft.

Now for the news.

Atlas Restaurant Group hires award-winning chef to oversee Asian cuisine

Baltimore’s Atlas Restaurant Group has hired internationally renowned chef Timur Fazilov to oversee Asian cuisine at several Atlas concepts, the group announced Thursday. Fazilov will look after Azumi, located in the Four Seasons Baltimore , the Azumi soon to open in Houston, Texas and a Chinese concept opening soon in Village of Cross Keys . He joins Atlas after a stint as Brand Executive Chef at Sa’Moto by Morimoto in Miami and other Michelin-starred restaurants across the globe (including in Qatar). Atlas has plans for two big openings in 2024: a steakhouse and adjacent cocktail bar .

State board approves $32M for Martin State Airport project

The Maryland Board of Public Works approved a $32 million contract on Wednesday to make improvements to Martin State Airport’s runway. The improvements include pavement replacement, electrical upgrades and new LED lighting and signage installations, according to a press release from the Maryland Department of Transportation. The construction contract was awarded to Baltimore’s P. Flanigan and Sons Inc. The project at the Baltimore County airport is expected to begin in spring 2024 and construction is expected to take less than a year, according to the announcement.

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Former oyster canning building near Camden Yards to go up for auction

A former oyster canning building in Ridgely’s Delight will go up for auction later this month, BBJ's Morgan Simpson reports. The building at 337 to 339 S. Fremont Ave., which formerly housed the John T. McNaney Oyster Co., is being sold in an online and onsite auction from Jan. 22 to Jan. 23. The nearly 10,000-square-foot and three-story brick building dates back to the early 1900s. The John T. McNaney Oyster Co. used the building as its oyster canning facility, then it served as a warehouse for Samuel T. Epstein and Sons department store. Keep reading for a local history lesson and the scoop on the upcoming auction .

Mixed-use redo of Pigtown library will add apartments, community space

The new Enoch Pratt Free Library branch in Pigtown is envisioned to be all things to all people, my colleague Melody Simmons reports. The space will hold books, offices and community gatherings as well as 21 apartments, a development team told the city's design panel. The new complex will replace an aged library branch at 856 Washington Blvd., a city panel was told on Thursday. The so-called Library Lofts project will be among what is being hailed as a wave of new development in Pigtown, a working-class community near M&T Bank Stadium and the University of Maryland BioPark. Read about the city panel's suggestions and what the next steps for the bookish abodes will be.

Hopkins aims to close part of East Baltimore street for new building

Johns Hopkins University wants to close down part of an East Baltimore street to traffic in order to create a plaza that will complement a new 250,000-square-foot building for its school of public health, BBJ's Matt Hooke reports. Hopkins hopes to close a segment of McElderry Street between N. Chapel and N. Washington streets to all car traffic except for emergency vehicles to build a plaza that could be used for health fairs and other events. Hopkins spokesperson Jill Rosen said the university has started pre-development work with the City Department of Planning to create a new location for the Bloomberg School of Public Health in East Baltimore . Read more about the project and what comes next.

Timonium dispensary opens first Mississippi location

The national expansion of Timonium-based Curio Wellness is coming to fruition. The cannabis company announced the opening of a dispensary under its retail brand, Far & Dotter, in Olive Branch, Mississippi, on Thursday. It’s the first retail location for the brand in that state and the company’s third nationwide, with stores in Timonium and Elkton. It’s also the first store to open under the company’s franchising model, which makes Mississippi native Sederia Gray the first Far & Dotter franchisee. The operation is backed by the Curio Investment Fund and will integrate into Mississippi’s growing medical cannabis market, according to the announcement.

Long & Foster Real Estate names new leader of Baltimore region

Baltimore’s largest residential real estate firm has a new regional leader. Long & Foster Real Estate has named Athena Petersen as senior vice president and regional manager for the firm’s Baltimore, Eastern Shore and Western Maryland region, according to a press release. She’s stepping into the role after serving as managing broker at Long & Foster’s Reston and Fairfax, Virginia, locations. Peterson worked her way up from her starting role as a sales associate in the 2000s. She earner her degree from the University of Maryland (Go Terps!), per the announcement.

Sterilex CEO to transition to new role, interim leader to step in

Sterilex, a Hunt Valley-based sanitation company that grew rapidly during the pandemic , is shaking up its C-suite. CEO Alex Josowitz will relinquish the role and “transition to a strategic advisory role” while continuing to serve on the company’s board of directors, Sterilex announced Thursday evening. Colleen Akehurst, a managing director at Paine Schwartz Partners (the private equity firm which took control of Sterilex in 2021) will serve as interim CEO. Akehurst will oversee the transition to a new CEO, but a timeline for the handoff was not provided.

Questions or comments about this newsletter? Reach out to BBJ Digital Producer Joe Ilardi at [email protected].