Biz Sense Small Biz

Local solar firms hopeful for surge

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:36:29 +0000

Solar-related businesses are heating up in Richmond. Last week, BizSense wrote about an energy start-up called Shockoe Solar, but that company not alone. The industry has been evolving in Central Virginia for decades and seems poised to hit a growth spurt.

Solar startup ready for sunrise on incentives

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:00:06 +0000

Bernie Stanley, as far as he knows, is the only solar panel installer in Central Virginia. But that could change if Gov. Tim Kaine�??s proposal to give businesses and residents a tax credit for going solar is approved by the General Assembly.

Limo company moves to the Boulevard

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:03:30 +0000

Consumers and businesses might be cutting expenses, but that doesn�??t seem to stop them from riding in style. James Limousine increased sales 40 percent over the previous year. Now the company rings in the New Year by moving into a 27,000-square-foot facility at 1207 North Boulevard.

Pipeline: Commercial Real Estate Round Up for 1.16.08

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:59:45 +0000

Fidura & Associates, a mental health practice, has leased 5,000 square feet at 804 Moorefield Park Drive in Chesterfield. Davis Consultants, Inc., a lobbyist group, has leased 1,500 square feet at 7501 Boulders View Drive. Axxcelera, an international provider of wireless broadband services, has leased 11,000 square feet at 1600-1640 E. Parham Rd. in Henrico.

Local marketing firm acquired by San Francisco group

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:07:40 +0000

Play, a local marketing consultancy, was acquired this week by Prophet, a San Francisco-based branding and marketing group.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

The deal marks an exciting next step for Play, said Andy Stefanovich, who started the company with his sister, Christine, in 1990.

Former Wachovia Securities workers open consulting firm

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:05:45 +0000

The trend continues: Two more Wachovia-ers have started their own business.

Pasta Luna joins list of recent restaurant closings

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:52:19 +0000

There�??s more bad news on the restaurant front.

Pasta Luna, located in Loehmann�??s Plaza at 8902 W. Broad St., has closed.

Yesterday, BizSense reported that two city restaurants closed at the beginning of the year, Karsen�??s and Relish.

A sign reading �??Out of Business�?? could be seen hung inside Pasta Luna�??s door yesterday, and stacks of tables and chairs were visible through the window. The restaurant specialized in northern Italian cuisine and was voted Best Italian by Richmond Magazine five years in a row (2002-2006).

The restaurant�??s website also was down.

High Fidelity

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:14:35 +0000

The cavernous warehouse at Record Finder, a Parham Road depository of pressed music from the last 80 years, feels like a drafty basement. The fluorescent light throw mostly just shadows. A smell of old records and musty cardboard makes it vaguely inviting, like maybe a treasure is hiding under �??20 Greatest Holiday Carols.�??

Prince George Rolls-Royce plant is �??Deal of the Year�??

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:00:09 +0000

The Rolls-Royce plant that landed in Prince George County this year has won Business Facilities magazine�??s top honor in their annual Economic Development Deal of the Year Awards.

Richmond�??s $8 million version of Madoff

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:54:08 +0000

Two years ago, Richmond had its own version of Bernard Madoff, the New York financier was accused of swindling $50 billion from wealthy investors, banks, hedge funds and charities.

From November 2005 through the fall of 2006, James E. Brown Jr. �?? in his early 20s at the time �?? convinced more than 300 Richmond investors that he could double their money every six weeks. Brown told investors he was making huge returns by trading in foreign currencies. He put on seminars at a local Sheraton.