George Mason University’s Patriot Pitch Competition awarded its top prize in the General Entrepreneurship Track to Zachary Suh, a 19-year-old freshman from Ashburn studying marketing.

Suh’s venture, ElderlyEats, aims to provide senior citizens with nutritious and culturally familiar meal plans.

“ElderlyEats is basically a meal plan company that’s catered to the specific needs of the elderly’s dietary nutrition,” said Suh. “We have dietitians on our team that vet our meals carefully to the nutrition of elders.”

Unlike popular meal kit services like HelloFresh and Blue Apron, ElderlyEats focuses on creating meals for seniors with conditions such as dysphagia and diabetes. His personal experience inspired Suh with his grandmother, who struggled to find suitable meals due to Alzheimer’s and dysphagia. “We ordered these dishes, but she couldn’t actually eat them. So we had to almost like puree it up for her,” he explained.

The company emphasizes traditional dietary ingredients to provide familiar flavors, addressing a gap left by mainstream meal services that cater to younger demographics. “We’re focusing on developing these menu items that are just pureed completely. We’re looking at rice porridges, soups, stuff like that,” said Suh. “A big thing about these major meal plans is that they’re focusing on a very young demographic, so their meals are very catered to, you know, kind of trendy cultural foods.”

Suh’s journey into entrepreneurship was influenced by his brother, a successful entrepreneur who received investment from Y Combinator. “My brother definitely influenced that. I actually competed with him at UVA when I was a high schooler in another entrepreneurship competition, and that kind of exposed me to it,” Suh said.

Despite the challenges, Suh is committed to growing his business and hopes to continue in the field of entrepreneurship, potentially opening a restaurant in the future. “If I was able to successfully exit my company, then I’d probably open up a restaurant. But I think I’ll definitely stay in the world of entrepreneurship,” he stated.

Suh encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue their passion and start small businesses. “Whatever you’re passionate in, that’s what you’re going to put the most hours in and the most work in,” he said. “You just got to start. You can’t just keep saying you’re going to do something. Break your big goal into smaller plans and just execute through that.”

As a freshman, Suh has made significant strides with ElderlyEats and looks forward to further developing his venture while completing his studies at George Mason University. “I really have no idea right now where I see myself in the next five years,” Suh admitted. “But I’m just going to keep working on ElderlyEats and see where it takes me.”

 

Barley Naked Brewing Company won two medals in the 2024 World Beer Cup, which was held in Las Vegas in April.

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By Casey Harper

(The Center Square) – Small businesses are citing the highest levels of uncertainty since the COVID-19 pandemic, a concerning economic indicator.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses released the survey of small businesses, which found that small business uncertainty spiked last month.

NFIB keeps an “Uncertainty Index” which spiked 9 percentage points last month, hitting the highest level since November of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was raging and businesses were shutting down across the country.

“The small business sector is responsible for the production of over 40% of GDP and employment, a crucial portion of the economy,” NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said in a statement. “But for 29 consecutive months, small business owners have expressed historically low optimism and their views about future business conditions are at the worst levels seen in 50 years. Small business owners need relief as inflation has not eased much on Main Street.”

Meanwhile, 22% of small businesses cited inflation as the biggest concern operating their business. Inflation has remained stubbornly elevated this year, although lower than the record pace earlier in President Joe Biden’s term.

“Price hikes were the most frequent in the retail (55% higher, 6% lower), finance (50% higher, 3% lower), construction (42% higher, 9% lower), manufacturing (42% higher, 12% lower), and services (37% higher, 6% lower) sectors,” NFIB said in its report. “Seasonally adjusted, a net 28% plan price hikes in May.”

Dill Dinkers is opening its first flagship location in Virginia at Manassas Mall on Saturday, June 8. The 16,485-square-foot facility features six indoor courts, event space, a pro shop, and a state-of-the-art reservation system. The club will offer a range of services, including clinics, lessons, leagues, and private event rentals. Pickleball pro-Gage Tutko will be on staff to enhance the player experience.

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RapidFlight has secured a contract worth up to $10 million from the U.S. Department of the Air Force's AFWERX Autonomy Prime program to develop the SPX, a customizable autonomous fixed-wing aircraft system. This partnership aims to accelerate the integration of autonomous technologies into Air Force programs, with RapidFlight providing design, development, testing, and training over a 36-month period, highlighting their innovative AgileAviation process to reduce development time and costs.

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Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) came to Prince William County, where farms are moving indoors.

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Federal Realty Investment Trust has acquired Virginia Gateway, a 1.3 million-square-foot regional shopping center in Gainesville.

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Virginia Gateway, an approximately 665,000-square-foot irreplaceable regionally-dominant retail center spanning 110-acres in Gainesville, Virginia, for $215 million. The property is approximately 95% occupied and features strong tenant sales and high traffic counts in an affluent and growing market.

Situated at the intersection of Route 29 and I-66, Virginia Gateway is a prominent retail and entertainment hub with exceptional visibility and access, drawing visitors from a wide regional trade area. In 2023, the property ranked third in Virginia for annual visits, according to Placer.ai, just behind Tysons Corner. The high traffic volumes drive strong tenant sales at the property across categories, but particularly in food and beverage.

Virginia Gateway offers a diverse and unique mix of tenants and experiences across its 110-acres, organized into five distinct components:

• Giant Food grocery-anchored shopping center,
• Promenade featuring national specialty retailers and dining options,
• Atlas Walk town center,
• Plaza I & II featuring major retailers like HomeGoods and Ulta Beauty, and
• Plaza IV anchored by Total Wine & More and Hobby Lobby.

The property also benefits from shadow anchors such as Super Target, Lowe’s, and BJ’s Wholesale Club. Importantly, Virginia Gateway has approximately 300,000 square feet of small shop space which is expected to be a meaningful driver of future growth.

Aerial view of Virginia Gateway Shopping Center in Gainesville, Virginia
Gainesville, Virginia demonstrates robust demographics with the strong population supported by an influx of higher-paying jobs. The average household income within a three-mile radius of the property exceeds $184,000, surpassing the company’s in-place portfolio average. This prime suburban location offers convenient access to the Dulles Technology Corridor, known for its concentration of defense contracting and tech jobs, further enhancing Gainesville’s appeal.

“We are extremely fortunate to have acquired Virginia Gateway, which is a dominant, irreplaceable regional shopping center that aligns perfectly with our acquisition strategy. A retail property of this size and scale, located in an affluent trade area at a heavily trafficked interchange, is not reproducible in today’s market environment. With the addition of this highly productive regional center, Federal Realty’s Northern Virginia portfolio grows to 3.6 million square feet, solidifying our presence in this thriving region,” Jeff Berkes, President & Chief Operating Officer of Federal Realty said.

Artidoro Rodríguez Café (Artidoro), a boutique Peruvian coffee company, has opened its first U.S. coffee bar in Manassas.

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The Office of Procurement Services of Prince William County is set to host its inaugural Procurement Expo on Thursday, June 13, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will take place at the Prince William County Government Complex located at 1 County Complex Court, Woodbridge.

The expo invites both current vendors and prospective vendors interested in business opportunities with the county. Attendees will have the chance to engage directly with various county departments and local resources in an expo-style format. This event aims to facilitate discussions about the departments’ missions, the typical goods and services procured, and the planned contractual expenditures for the next fiscal year.

Additionally, the expo will feature one-on-one matchmaking sessions, where vendors can meet with department representatives to discuss specific needs and the qualities sought in a contracting partner. Pre-registration is required for these sessions.

The event will also include panel discussions focusing on specific procurement areas such as Information Technology, Construction, and Architectural Engineering.

For more information, to register for the event, or to view the detailed agenda, interested parties can visit the website at pwcva.gov/procurement-expo.