With the arrival of 2026, we’re officially halfway through the 2020s. It is hard to believe that 2030 is now starting to peek its head around the corner.
As is tradition here at The Chronicle, we’re using the January issue to take a look back at the previous year and, in particular, of the most popular articles from each month, measured by their online view count.
It’s been a year of highs and lows. The Northside Chronicle celebrated our 40th anniversary, but at the same time, the Northside lost many of its most prominent citizens during the year.
We’ll take a look at all that and more. So without further adieu, let’s begin.
January: Looking back at the most popular stories of 2024
Kicking off our retrospective this year is our retrospective for last year!
Yes, our most read story for January was our look back to the most popular articles of 2024. Those highlighted stories included a profile of Tom Friday’s new owners, predictions that the 2024 generation of spotted lanternflies were going to be smaller than past years, a beautification project for Virgin Way and a Northsider making his acting breakthrough in a Hollywood movie.
Surprisingly, a previous year’s retrospective hasn’t shown up on the next year in review before. We’ll have to report back in January 2027 to see if this article makes the list.
February: Italian boutique hotel ‘The Villagio’ to open in Allegheny West
A new business opening up on the Northside is always big news. It’s perhaps no surprise that our February 2025 highlight was the opening of an Italian- themed hotel in Allegheny West.
We spoke with The Villagio owner Ed Taimuty about the then-upcoming venue, including its rooms themed around different Italian cities and regions.
The Villagio has long since opened up and is still operating at 939 Western Ave. With this article’s popularity, it’s possible some Northside visitors decided to stay there after reading our coverage.
Mayfly Market’s move into Garden Theater is June’s most read story
March: Town Talk: Taqueria Acosta’s tacOcat — Not your typical alley cat
The Chronicle’s Town Talk column, written by Anna Yoder, has been a perennial favorite from our readers, with multiple entries of the column reaching previous years in review.
It’s no surprise the column has reached the list again, this time for its look at pop-up New Mexican restaurant tacOcat.
Not only did Yoder enjoy the food, but she was also a big fan of the eatery’s atmosphere, which was nostalgic for people of a certain generation. As Yoder herself put in in her column: “We were mesmerized at the large flat screen TV where the soft-spoken Bob Ross was miraculously transforming a blank canvas into a lovely woodland scene with just a few strokes of paint. To our left, the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II” movie was playing from a vintage VCR (video cassette recorder for those born after 1980) on a console TV. I suddenly felt transported back to my youth in my childhood home’s ‘game room.’” Unfortunately, the tacOcat popup suspended operation on Nov. 20 of this year, so hopefully any readers who were intrigued by Yoder’s column got a chance to visit before the closure.
April: Northside Baseball, Softball spruce up Jack Stack Field
Who doesn’t love baseball? Well, probably many long suffering Pittsburgh Pirates fans at this point (And I’m speaking from personal experience here). But it’s clear our readers love it overall, as our most popular story in April was all about the sport.
Carson Folio, one of the many interns we’ve had at The Northside Chronicle, reported on upgrades the Northside Baseball and Softball Association (NBSA) had done to Jack Stack Field for their then-upcoming season.
Specifically, new outfield fences were installed with yellow and black fence toppers bearing the logos of the NBSA’s sponsors. This was done to mimic the look of a professional baseball field.
The NBSA was able to get the funding for this project with the help of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who gave a grant for the fence installation. The team also donated lightly used baseball equipment.
If any of our readers haven’t checked out the improved field yet, next April will be a great time to do so when the NBSA kicks off their 2026 season.
May: Northside Business & Community Briefs May 2025
It’s a commonly held adage that bigger is better. However, that’s not always true, as is the case for our most popular article for the month of May.
Our Business & Community Briefs bring all the smaller news items to our readers every month, keeping them informed while not taking up too much space. Often these are press releases which just need to be reworked to keep with The Chronicle’s style, or events that, while significant, are likely to receive coverage elsewhere long before our monthly issue comes out.
It’s pretty easy to see why the May 2025 collection of briefs stuck out in particular. We led off with reporting about three new historic markers for Three Rivers Stadium, the sports arena of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers from 1970 to 2000, then transitioned to announcing the NorthSideWorks! job fair taking place later in the month, and wrapped it all up with a look at City of Asylum’s Bridges City of Asylum Pittsburgh Creative Summit.
That’s a lot of major news all presented in perfectly small packages. We hope our readers continue to enjoy our briefs and the bite-sized but valuable nuggets of information they contain.
June: Mayfly Market moving into Garden Theater
The quest to redevelop the Garden Theater is a long one, littered with false starts. First opened in 1915, the building was closed in 2007 and has remained vacant ever since.
However, the Northside received news of new life coming to the historic structure when it was announced that Mayfly Market & Deli, a local grocery store located on Arch Street, would be one of two tenants set to move into a reopened Garden Theater.
Mayfly’s owner, Ann Gilligan, spoke with The Chronicle about what the move meant for her business. For one, it would double the size of her store, allowing her to significantly expand the number of items she could offer for sale. The move would also bring Mayfly onto a main street, something Gilligan hoped would bring more visibility to the store.
The second and final tenant for the Garden Theater, Golden Age Beer Co., was announced in late September. The new Garden Theater, which is being renamed to just The Garden, is set to be open sometime before Valentine’s Day.
July: Town Talk: Annex Espresso & Goods — Supporting small businesses
Town Talk made it to our most popular article list once more this year, this time taking a look at Annex Espresso & Goods, a combination clothing/gift store and coffee shop located on East Ohio Street.
The store initially opened in 2018 and just went under the name “Annex.” The change in name — as well as the expansion to offering coffee — occurred in November 2023 after owners Jason Farahi and Lauren Bradley reopened the physical location following the cooling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What’s more, Anna Yoder learned from Farahi and Bradley that Annex is intended as a “concept lifestyle store,” which is a type of store that offers products that “portray or exude a [specific] lifestyle.” In Annex’s case, that lifestyle is “outdoorsy and independent.”
Unlike tacOcat, Annex Espresso & Goods is still open. Fans of the column can visit the store on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sundays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 522 E. Ohio St.
August: Northside sports author releases second book
Mark Fatla has worn a lot of hats around the Northside, most notably serving as the Northside Leadership Conference executive director.
However, lately, he’s put on a new hat: author. In August we covered the release of Fatla’s second book, “Pittsburgh’s Historic Stadiums and Arenas,” which examines the history of sports venues in the steel city.
The book is a sequel to Fatla’s 2023 work “Pittsburgh’s Historic Ballparks,” which exclusively focused on baseball. For the follow-up, Fatla expanded to other athletic competitions, including hockey, football, and basketball, while also including some baseball representation.
It’s a fascinating deep dive into local sports history, with quite a few surprises even for longtime natives of our city. For example, Fatla goes into the history of Schenley Park Casino, the first indoor artificial ice hockey rink in North America which burned down after only 18 months of operation.
Fatla discussed plans for future books with The Chronicle. Perhaps our coverage of those releases will make it onto other Years in Review.
September: Town Talk: The Lion — Hear the roar of the Lion
Town Talk makes it a hat trick on this year’s most popular article list. The column visited The Lion, a Manchester neighborhood cocktail bar and successor to a similar business known as Leo.
A major feature of The Lion is its collection of more than 1,000 vinyl records, ranging from 1940s jazz to country to pop to hip hop and even heavy metal.
In terms of drinks, The Lion features hand-crafted specialty cocktails made using juices. Yoder found herself most enjoying the “Purple Drank,” which includes “pea flower infused with gin,” grapefruit, lime and lemon juices.
The Lions remains open daily starting at 4 p.m., and is located at 1207 Allegheny Ave.
October: Preserving Northside Pumpkinfest
One of the Northside’s most beloved traditions for the past 30+ years is Northside Pumpkinfest.
Starting back in 1991, Pumpkinfest brings together the children of the Northside and communities beyond to a day of autumnal fun, full of rides, shows and, of course, a free pumpkin patch to pick out and decorate the best gourd they can find.
In 2025, Pumpkinfest saw a major change, though it was one behind the scenes. Since its founding, Pumpkinfest has been primarily organized by Barbara Burns, one of the co-founders of the event. In 2024, Burns expressed a desire to step back from her role and hand off the keys to a new generation of organizers.
That’s exactly what happened with the 2025 Pumpkinfest, as a committee made up of East Allegheny Community Council, The Northside | North Shore Chamber of Commerce, The Northside Leadership Conference, The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and Allegheny Center Alliance Church took on the task of organizing Pumpkinfest.
Burns was still on hand to provide tips and, perhaps most importantly, write down the exact procedure she used to set up the festival — something which she admitted she could do by rote memory at this point.
By all accounts, the Pumpkinfest under the committee was a success and a step toward preserving the festival for future generations. With the Northside’s love of Pumpkinfest, it’s no wonder this article was our most popular for the month of October.
The handing off of the festival unfortunately proved to be well-timed. Burns passed away less than a month later on Nov. 5 at the age of 76, leaving behind a lifetime of service and advocacy for the Northside.
While Burns’ passing is a heavy loss for the Northside, it seems that at least part of her vast legacy will be carried on and future Northside children can continue looking forward to Pumpkinfest.
November: Ed Graf, co-founder of Priory Hotel, passes away at 86
One of the Northside’s major landmarks is The Priory Hotel and Grand Hall, located in Deutschtown. While today known as a thriving business and event venue, the structure was at one point at risk of being torn down.
Founded in 1888 as St. Mary’s Church and Priory, the structure was purchased in the 1970s by the state with the intention of tearing it down for the construction of Interstate 279. The church finally closed in 1981 and it seemed all by certainly destined for the wrecking ball.
That is where Edward and Mary Ann Graf stepped in. Edward, more commonly known as Ed, was an executive with the advertising and public relations agency Ketchum Communications. After a group of neighborhood activists convinced the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to reroute the highway to avoid having to demolish the priory, the Grafs purchased the property at an auction in 1984 and turned to preserving the structure, as well as giving it new purpose.
That led to The Priory the Northside knows today.
Sadly, Graf passed away this year on Sept. 22 at the age of 86. With his passing occurring after the press deadline for The Chronicle’s October issue, readers would have to wait until the November edition to read our coverage. Despite the delay, the news proved major enough to make it the top story for the month.
Graf was unfortunately not alone, as the Northside lost many of its most prominent citizens this year. Besides the aforementioned Burns, Dr. Betty Robinson, co-founder of Manchester Academic Charter School, passed away on Sept. 3 at the age of 96; and Ed Brandt, who was the executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference from 1993 to 2001, passed away on Aug. 29 at the age of 85.
December: Local shop owners share their best gift ideas
Despite the rash of sad news which seemed to fill the pages of The Chronicle’s autumn editions, the year ended on a more joyful note.
Closing out our list of the most popular stories of the year was one filled with the holiday spirit, as we spoke with three local small business owners about what they would recommend as the best Christmas gifts from their stores.
The Chronicle issues an annual article to help promote shopping local in our community. Featured this year was knick-knack/antique store Johnny Angel’s Ginchy Stuff, art gallery/antique store Pandora 7 Full Circle and garden/decorations shop Farmer’s Daughter.
The gift recommendations were as varied as the stores themselves. Johnny Angel’s owner Jack Hunt recommended both sports and music memorabilia; Pandora 7 co-owner Jennifer McClain suggested metal toys (of which the store apparently had a great amount); and Farmer’s Daughter owner Lauren Work went with either a wreath or a coffee mug, unable to settle on just one.
It is The Chronicle’s hope that our readers were inspired by this article and decided to check out the stores in their very own backyard when hunting down gifts this year.
With that, the year in review has come to a close. Only time will tell what 2026 will bring, and which articles will prove the most popular and impactful. But whether the year will be filled with good times or bad times, The Chronicle will be there to continue bringing the Northside’s major stories.
We want to thank all of our readers, advertisers and especially our subscribers. If you would like to support The Northside Chronicle, now is a great time to subscribe, as all new subscribers before the end of January will be entered into a drawing for one of three $100 gift cards to Alberta’s Pizzeria. Subscribe on our website or fill out the form on Page 2 of any Northside Chronicle edition.
Happy New Year, Northside.
