Here’s a recap of the top stories for the week of July 31, 2026:
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Thermo Fisher misses goal for regional expansion
Reported by BizSense’s Jack Jacobs
Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical firm Thermo Fisher Scientific completed its expansion to the Richmond area, but the multimillion-dollar project yielded less than half as many local jobs as it previously pledged.
The company, which makes lab equipment and assorted drug development services, only ended up hiring about 190 employees, despite a promise to hire more than 500 people across multiple localities. However the firm did meet its $97 million capital investment goal.
Since Thermo Fisher didn’t meet its agreed-upon goals, the company will only earn a fraction of the incentives it was set to receive from the state.
Westover Place redevelopment in Forest Hill nears full view
Reported by BizSense’s Mike Platania
Construction on the mixed-use property at 5069 Forest Hill Ave. has made progress in recent weeks. The three-story building will take over the block where the Westover Place shopping center once stood.
The project, proposed in 2021 by local firms Blackwood Development Co. and Dumbarton Properties, will feature 30 apartments above 7,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.
They bought the land later that year for $450,000 and razed the Westover Place strip in 2023. The 0.7-acre lot had sat vacant until recently.
Sippa drive-thru soda shop moves to Richmond region
Reported by BizSense’s Jackie DiBartolomeo
A unique “dirty soda” shop is moving into a storefront near Regency Mall this week. Sippa, a drive-through beverage seller, offers a variety of non-alcoholic sodas with flavored syrups and creamers.
Sippa was founded by married couple Michelle and David Wride, who hail from Salt Lake City, Utah — where dirty sodas were popularized.
Sippa will be open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m.–9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m.–10 p.m.
Southside’s Baltik’s Bagel eyes Church Hill storefront
Reported by BizSense’s Mike Platania
Yero Rudzinskas, owner of Baltik’s Bagel in Southside Richmond, recently bought the former Alamo BBQ Property at 2202 Jefferson Ave. The $560,000 purchases marks Rudzinskas’ intention to expand his footprint in Church Hill, but his plans aren’t set in stone.
The familiar corner lot, once occupied by the walk-up barbecue joint, has sat largely vacant since it closed in 2023 for an expansion that never occurred.
Rudzinskas said the building needs some work and that he’s still looking for spaces for more local Baltik’s shops, but hasn’t found a place that worked yet.
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