A Look Back at Our Top Stories of 2018

As the year comes to a close, we took a look at our readers’ favorite stories of 2018. From our inaugural Top Teachers feature to a peek inside Nottingham-based Herr’s Snacks to our annual Best of the Main Line and Western Suburbs winners, here are the stories that caught your attention this year.

20 Best New Restaurants on the Main Line – Feb. 2018

Suburban Restaurant & Beer Garden in Exton. Photo by Steve Legato.

For our February 2018 cover story, we rounded up some of our favorite new restaurants throughout the western suburbs. From Exton’s Suburban Restaurant & Beer Garden to Bryn Mawr’s Enoteca Tredici, here’s who made the list.

27 Drivable Weekend Getaways – April 2018

Oheka Castle Hotel & Estate in Huntington, N.Y. Photo courtesy of Oheka Castle Hotel & Estate.

Readers must have really needed a vacation in 2018. For our April cover story, our travel writer compiled a list of 27 weekend destinations within driving distance of the Main Line. From Huntington, N.Y.’s impressive Oheka Castle to Middleburg, Va.’s quaint Red Fox Inn & Tavern, here are the locales our readers were dreaming about this year.

14 Great Places to Work Around the Main Line – May 2018

Vanguard’s campus in Valley Forge. Photo courtesy of Vanguard.

Loving where you work matters, especially considering the average American spends about 90,000 hours of their life working. For our May issue, senior editor Lisa Dukart took a look at local companies that offered stellar perks, state-of-the-art offices and positive cultures.

Two Philadelphia-Area Bakers Featured on Netflix’s Sugar Rush – July 2018

Photo courtesy of Sugar Rush/Netflix.

Philadelphia’s western suburbs are chockfull of culinary superstars, two of which were recently featured on Netflix’s Sugar Rush, a reality baking competition that pits professional bakers against one another. Peri Anderson of Phoenixville’s Brooklyn Girl Bakery and Jennifer Low of Mt. Airy’s the Frosted Fox Cake Shop competed together.

Best of the Main Line and Western Suburbs 2018 – July 2018

Villanova Men’s Basketball player Mikal Bridges and coach Jay Wright were both Best Of winners in 2018. Photo by Peetlesnumber1 on Flickr.

For our 22^nd annual Best of the Main Line and Western Suburbs, readers and critics selected almost 400 winners, ranging from an allergy-sensitive café in Bryn Mawr to an intimate and historic theater in Media to Malvern’s very own hometown hero, NCAA Men’s Basketball champion, Mikal Bridges. (Voting is now open for 2019. Click here to access the ballot.)

BYPASSED Illuminates the Plight–and the Hope–of Coatesville – Aug. 2018

Sarah Alderman in her hometown of Coatesville. Photo by Tessa Marie Images.

Sarah Alderman and Ryan Beacher’s BYPASSED, a grassroots documentary that tells the story of Coatesville’s troubled past while celebrating the people that make it special, was set to premiere this summer. Back in August, we spoke to Alderman about her year’s-long project.

2018 Top Teachers Around the Main Line and Western Suburbs – Sept. 2018

(From left) Top Teachers Jenni Southmayd, Erin Schuele and Tori DeCesare, taken at Fern Hill Elementary School. Photo by Tessa Marie Images.

For our first-ever Top Teachers feature, we asked readers to submit nominations for great teachers from throughout the region, who were then selected via a thorough editorial process. From the many nominations, we selected 15 exceptional educators who go above and beyond every day.

In Narberth, Two Moms are Treating their Sons’ Autism with Cannabis – Sept. 2018

Great Expectations Together’s Brooke Goodspeed (left) and Erica Daniels. Photo by Tessa Marie Images.

After finding little success with more traditional autism treatments, Narberth’s Erica Daniels and Brooke Goodspeed decided to try using marijuana to treat their sons’ severe side effects. The friends, who were featured on Viceland’s Weediquette for their alternative treatment methods, recently opened Great Expectations Together, a nonprofit community center staffed by special-needs kids and adults in Narberth. Associate editor Melissa Jacobs spoke with them about their journey.

2018 Women on the Move – Oct. 2018

Our Women on the Move 2018 honorees. Photo by Tessa Marie Images and Ann Marie Casey.

For our annual Power Women feature, we asked readers to nominate local trailblazing women. From CEOs and entrepreneurs to mental health professionals and small business owners to nonprofit leaders and everything in between, these women are redefining the measure of success throughout our area.

Inside the Herr’s Snack Empire – Dec. 2018

Herr’s top execs, Troy Gunden, Ed Herr, Jim E. Herr and Jeremiah Thomas (from left), at the company’s Nottingham headquarters. Photographs by Tessa Marie Images.

Amid pressure to create healthier products and CEO Ed Herr’s impending retirement, Chester County-based Herr’s is looking towards the future. After 72 years in business, here’s how the family-run business is staying competitive in an industry dominated by global companies.