Nappanee will soon be home to the World's Largest Cabinet

NAPPANEE, Ind. -- Thomas Mast bought the Coppes Commons in 2007 as a construction project, and his original goal was to fix it up and resell it but many community members came to him with ideas of how to fill the space. Now Coppes Commons and the cabinet factory are owned by the Mast family and the commons building dates back to 1876.

Wesley Mast, the President of the company says, "We're one of two cabinet manufacturers that still exists today, that made Hoosier cabinets back in the early 1900s so all the other cabinet companies that built Hoosier cabinets are no longer in existence."

Now the family is creating their own historical pathway while highlighting the Coppes Families creations. They are currently building the world's largest cabinet right in the heart of the Coppes Commons area. Thomas Mast, the owner says, "These doors, one on each end, will have stairway that will go up and where you'll be able to stand in here for photo op, just to enjoy the experience and see around. And so the brick wall is to depict the beginnings of the Hoosier cabinet, which was the first cabinet that came in to the kitchen from fire outside."

Back in 2020 the idea came about and this year construction started with the mindset of if they were going to build something why not go all out? Wesley Mast says, "Well, while you're doing this, let's make it the world's largest, and it allows us at Campus Commons here to create this little bit more of a destination. There's just a lot of people that come through this area, and if with something like this, I believe it creates a destination for people to come see it."

The Mast family says it was important to bring something like this to the community because the Hoosier Cabinets were a staple in many local households. Thomas Mast explains, "I enjoy is just people coming by and say, you know, dad worked here, grandpa worked here, and the family connections that Coppes has had through many years. They had employees that worked here for 50 plus years, and it was a career; it was a family experience and second generations."

The family plans to celebrate 150 years by hosting a celebration the weekend of May 15, with hopes of bringing the community back to the year 1876.