As another year comes to a close and we look back on the year in Baltimore restaurants…The calendar was, as always, stacked with wine and whiskey dinners, food-heavy festivals, and seasonal additions to local menus. We slurped oysters and picked crabs, ate pawpaws and peaches, and drank everything from crushes to Baltimore beers to creative zero-proof cocktails.Local and seasonal remained hot buzzwords this year – as in years past – and local chefs continued to seek each other out for pop-ups and collaborative events. Baltimore’s bigger players, including Atlas Restaurant Group and Foreman Wolf, had high-profile openings and announcements, though smaller spots kept working hard, innovating and turning out inspired food.Here’s a look back at the big stories in Baltimore restaurants in 2024:Openings & ReopeningsThere were a lot of fun and exciting openings this year, from south Baltimore to north of the city.In Harbor East, Atlas Restaurant Group continued its success with the opening of The Ruxton, a steakhouse, and the cocktail bar Order of the Ace. Around the corner, the creative Italian spot Costiera has made a splash.Heading slightly north, Mt. Vernon welcomed a new outpost of Roggenart Bakery, Bistro and Café in April. Also in April, Joe Benny’s, which closed in 2023, reemerged with a twist. Owner Joseph Gardella opened a slightly different concept, called Benny’s, in the Little Italy space that formerly housed Germano’s.Hampden welcomed a bunch of great new places this year, including The Urban Oyster in January, Catalog Coffee – from former Café Cito owner Dave Sherman – in March, and the long-awaited Foreman Wolf restaurant The Duchess in early December.In Charles Village, Dear Charles opened in the new hotel, The Study at Johns Hopkins.D.C.-based Jerk at Nite expanded to Baltimore, opening a new location at the former Alewife gastropub space across the street from the Hippodrome Theatre.At Cross Keys, Cece’s Roland Park, sister spot Cece’s Kitchen, and casual pizza spot and market ZaVino’s all opened over the summer – and quickly gained a following. Nearby, on Falls Road, Scittino’s opened an Italian market and casual restaurant in December.In the Towson area, Clavel chef Carlos Raba’s Sinaloan spot, Nana, opened in January. In Timonium, a fun brewery-café partnership between Diamondback Brewing and Aveley Farms Coffee opened in October to rave reviews.On the reopening front, Rye Street Tavern made its triumphant return to business this summer. The restaurant, which had been closed since May of 2021, is back under new ownership. Rye Street is located in Baltimore Peninsula, where there are many changes afoot, including the recent opening of Slutty Vegan and the upcoming addition of Slurp Noodle Bar.Moving & ShakingExisting restaurants and businesses didn’t rest on their laurels this year. Multiple spots made investments in their future with smart moves and renovations.In January, Fells Point bakery Sacré Sucré moved to a new spot, still in Fells. In June, Doppio Pasticceria moved out of its R. House stall to open in the Remington building that formerly housed JBGB’s (and before that, Parts & Labor).The Corner Pantry took on a major construction project as it expanded into the space next door to its space. The new space looks fantastic and while the café is as busy as ever, now there are more seats to be had.Silver Queen Café also did some construction, adding a welcoming new bar – and new cocktail options to match.Key Brewing moved its operations from its original Dundalk space to the Monument City Brewing building. The two breweries are teaming up on production but their separate brands remain.The Local Fry team did some building, too – of a different sort. The fries-and-wings concept owners are working with franchise partners to expand both in and out of Maryland.Big BirthdaysIn July, Bunny’s Buckets & Bubbles capped off its first year of business with a Cluck & Shuck Birthday Bash – the youngest of the restaurants on this milestone birthday list.Several spots turned five this year, including Nepenthe Brewing Company, which celebrated in February with a daylong party, Walker’s Tap & Table in October, and Limoncello in November.In early March, Dylan’s Oyster Cellar and Papi’s Tacos both celebrated turning ten. In July, Ananda joined them with a decade in business and in November, Azumi also turned double digits.In April, Mari Luna turned twenty and Michael’s in Timonium celebrated a big one: forty years in business.In September, the locally-owned grocery store Eddie’s celebrated a huge milestone – eighty years in business – with a variety of specials, tastings and pop-ups.Restaurants themselves aren’t the only entities celebrating anniversaries this year. Several longstanding events also hit milestones. Gertrude’s Krautfest hit #20 in January and Max’s Taphouse’s Belgian Beer Fest wasn’t far behind, with its twentieth anniversary festival in February.Closings & Tough NewsUnfortunately, restaurant news is never all rosy and this year was no different. Several restaurants took to social media this year, openly and transparently discussing the challenges of operating a small business in the food industry in a tough economy.Both Heritage Smokehouse and Silver Queen Café saw a bump in business after posting about their difficulties. However, they also offered reminders that just a brief increase in diners isn’t enough to sustain any business – so it is important for local food lovers to patronize their favorite spots on a regular basis.Sadly, the Baltimore community also said goodbye to more than a few beloved spots this year.At the tail end of 2023, JBGB’s in Remington closed and so did the Thai Restaurant in Waverly, which shut its doors after 40 years in business due to rising rents and a new landlord. Fortunately, JBGB’s sister spot, John Brown General, remains open, and there have been plans in the works for Thai to reopen in a new space.In February, Ejji Ramen’s Belvedere Square location closed – though its Harbor East outpost remained open. In March, Café Poupon, the downtown café offshoot of Patisserie Poupon, closed.In April, Fells Point Scotch bar Birds of a Feather closed after four decades of business. Also this spring, Allora and Zander’s closed and Tin Roof, in Power Plant Live!, shuttered after ten years.Over the summer, Blair’s on Hudson in Canton closed its doors, along with Duck, Duck Goose, Osteria Pirata and Anchor Tavern, the three Fells Point businesses owned by Ashish Alfred.In October, The Arthouse in Hampden closed after 11 years. On November 1, Noona’s closed. Later in November, Canton’s Sizka Restaurant closed after nearly 5 years, and Parkville’s Mamma Lucia’s closed after 26 years in business.Plus, Perennial in Towson is closing just before the end of the year, though its space will remain available for events, and The Point in Towson will close in January.The year ended with a few announcements of upcoming closures that felt like gut punches, including Mother’s in Federal Hill and of Nacho Mama’s in Canton and Towson. Mother’s and Nacho Mama’s have both been a part of the community for many years and feel like part of Baltimore’s fabric – and both will close in January.Saying GoodbyeBaltimore restaurant community lost several important figures this year.This March, Chef Roland Jeannier died. Chef Jeannier was born in France but had lived in the U.S. since the 1950s. He left an indelible mark on the Baltimore restaurant scene with his work around town, culminating in his eponymous restaurant, Jeannier’s.In June, the community suffered another big loss with the passing of Qayum Karzai. Karzai was the owner of multiple local restaurants in Baltimore, including The Helmand, which opened 35 years ago.At the end of July, Michael Clarke, the owner of Claddagh Pub in Canton and a beloved member of the community, passed away.Joining ForcesIn more uplifting news, the 2024 calendar was chock full of collaborations between Baltimore restaurants and chefs.Some of the leaders in the collab business include Ekiben, which started the year by teaming up with Carlos Raba of Nana and Clavel, and The Charmery, which works with tons of local businesses on events and special ice creams, like a Whole Bean Coffee flavor made with the crew from Vent and a Biscuits & Gravy flavor that was a collab with blacksauce kitchen.Foraged is another restaurant that’s always partnering with someone new. The crew from the Station North restaurant teamed up with other local businesses throughout the year, then hosted its own seventh birthday party, inviting the chefs from The Corner Pantry and Bunny’s Buckets & Bubbles, along with Ggoma Supper Club’s Tae Strain.Ggoma is an example of one of the fun trends in pop-ups this year – events featuring local chefs who no longer work in one kitchen but still have tons of friends – and fans – around town. Chef Strain, whose petit restaurant Demi made waves years ago, is a regular fixture on the pop-up circuit, with his roving, collaborative organization Ggoma Supper Club.He often partners with Chef Scott Bacon, previously of Patterson Public House and Magdalena. This spring, Chef Bacon launched Fennec, his “nomadic restaurant” that pops up around Baltimore and elsewhere.Giving BackBaltimoreans are generous in so many ways – and food is often a part of that giving back.This year, efforts from local restaurants included fundraisers and donated food to support the families of the victims of the Key Bridge accident in March and to thank first responders. Key Brewing Co. was at the forefront of the initiatives; other companies that stepped up include Max’s Taphouse, Ekiben, Dock of the Bay, Nacho Mama’s and Mama’s on the Half Shell.Throughout the year, tons of restaurants and bars partner with nonprofit organizations to raise money for specific causes. Gertrude’s is always one of the most active restaurants on this front, teaming up with numerous organizations, from Art with a Heart to House of Ruth to Moveable Feast, which got support from dozens of Baltimore restaurants this year, as it does every year, during its autumn Dining Out for Life event.Also, a relatively new organization that embraces food and philanthropy, called Love & Cornbread began to make its mark. The nonprofit brings people together in Penn North to cook and share food with the community and to create local jobs and support businesses.Baltimore in the NewsMultiple local restaurants received national accolades this year. Clavel and Charleston Chef Cindy Wolf both got James Beard Award nods, Little Donna’s was included on a New York Times list of the country’s best pizza places, and Amoora made it to the NYT’s 2024 list of best restaurants.A young Baltimore girl, nine-year old Deniasha Burton, made the city proud by winning the grand prize in Dole’s “Nutritious is Delicious Cook-Off” – a national competition.In August, Baltimore made social media – and regular media – headlines when TikTok personality and food lover Keith Lee paid a visit to the city. The Lee family shines a light on small restaurants. In Baltimore, they visited Kahler’s Crabhouse in Rosedale and Rooted Rotisserie in Hollins Market and loved them both.Building AnticipationThe year is ending but there’s still a lot to look forward to in 2025 – including the finalization of several projects announced this past year.It’s been almost a year since news first broke that the crew from Dutch Courage will open a new spot in the space that formerly housed The Dizz. That project is still underway – and is now in the hiring phase. The spot will be called Pink Flamingo and the theme will be tropical and fun.The Alma Cocina Latina team is also behind a new spot slated to open in 2025: Candela, an arepa bar. And Alma’s former chef, David Zamudio, is getting ready to open his own spot, Josefina, a Spanish restaurant in Harbor Point.Hampden, which saw a lot of new action this year, is poised to keep blossoming in 2025, In April, the owners of La Cuchara took over the corner space that formerly housed Five & Dime Ale House, with plans to open something in the new year.Cross Keys is also due for some big openings in 2025. The shopping center, which has already seen a lot of recent changes, will welcome a Kneads Bakeshop, the Mexican restaurant Sol Oaxaca, and Nine-Tailed Fox, a Chinese spot from Atlas Restaurant Group.There’s no time to sleep on the Baltimore restaurant community. The year might be winding down but the culinary scene continues to heat up. There was a lot to love about 2024 – and even more to look forward to in ’25.