Here's a look at the top BmoreMedia stories of 2013

BmoreMedia readers gobbled up news stories on new restaurants and grocery stores in 2013. Features on the growing popularity of vegetarian cuisine, repurposed old buildings and the city's notable architecture were also highly read.
 

Ryleigh's Oyster opens new Timonium location
The owner of Ryleigh’s Oyster House opened his second location in Timonium this month after investing $2 million to transform the former Gibby's Seafood spot into the 300-seat restaurant.


Spike Gjerde opens Shoo-Fly Diner
Spike Gjerde, a James Beard-nominated chef and one of Baltimore’s most celebrated restaurateurs, opened his latest venture Oct. 11 in the former Crush space in Belvedere Square.


Nickel Taphouse opens in Mount Washington
About a year after opening his popular artisan pizza joint Birroteca, Robbin Haas has tackled his next restaurant venture in Mount Washington.


MOM's Organic Market to open first Baltimore City store at the Rotunda
MOM’s Organic Market says it will open a store at The Rotunda, ending months of speculation surrounding which grocer will anchor the $100 million redevelopment of the retail, office and residential project in Hampden.


Stone's Cove 'kitbar' restaurant opening in Owings Mills, other locations
It’s called a "kitbar." What’s that? It’s a mash-up of kitchen and bar’ and it’s a new concept in dining and entertainment.


Restaurants rise from the rubble in historic buildings
The average person wandering past one of Baltimore’s crumbling former mills along the Jones Falls Valley may not envision a restaurant rising up from the rubble some day. But Baltimore developer TerraNova Ventures LLC does.


Kale and potatoes: Baltimoreans embrace vegetarian cuisine
It hasn’t always been easy being a vegetarian in a meat and crab cake town like Baltimore.


D.C. developer constructing 150-unit apartment building in Mount Vernon
An eight-story building with 150 rental apartments and ground-floor retail is coming to 814 North Charles St. in Mount Vernon.


Ethiopian-owned businesses enliven Baltimore neighborhoods
Wander along the 300 block of Park Avenue, which once was the heart of Baltimore City's Chinatown district, and you will find that a few of its vestiges remain open, such as an Asian grocery store and Zhongshan Restaurant.


By Degrees Cafe opens in Little Italy
A Baltimore chef who has worked for the Wine Market and Fleet Street Kitchen opened a casual contemporary restaurant in an industrial building on the edge of Little Italy Oct. 15.


State hiring 70 to manage new health exchange as it preps for Obamacare
The state is hiring 70 staffers to work on the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, a marketplace that lets consumers choose health insurers and is a key provision of new federal health rules known as Obamacare.


New $1.75M go-kart speedway racing into Howard County
Autobahn Indoor Speedway LLC is building two Grand Prix-style tracks and Formula One-inspired Italian-style electric cars that can go as fast as 50 miles per hour.


Baltimore architects pick five buildings that inspire
Baltimore’s vital role in American history, its mix of Northern and Southern cultures and its rich architectural heritage present themselves daily in brick and stone, glass and steel.