B&B
The B&B opened on April 12, 1926. The original building was moved to Nappanee from Locke. Bernard “Bunk” Widmoyer and Russell “Buss” Hostetter started the business. B&B stood for Bunk and Buss. Their partnership only lasted one year because the restaurant could not support both their families. They flipped a coin to see who would retain the business and Bunk won.In 1963, the original building was razed and a new building was built. They never lost a day of business during the renovation. In 1972, two more dining rooms were added.During the depression, the B&B offered 1-cent egg sandwiches. A bowl of soup or a piece of pie for a nickel each. It was a family-type restaurant with home-cooked meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They had fifteen varieties of pie that were baked daily. In the restaurant’s history, they only had three pie bakers.The B&B restaurant closed in 1993.
Saloons
The Corner Saloon opened in June of 1879. Ed Brown and George Mclaughlin owned it together. In 1892, Ed Brown sold his interest to George.Once it was found that McLaughlin was living in Union Township but voting in Locke Township. Since he lived in Union then technically he shouldn’t have received a liquor license to sell in Locke Township. Due to Nappanee being in two townships an exception was made.In January 1902, no liquor licenses were given to the salons in Nappanee. Daniel Zook argued that Nappanee needed to stay a dry town. In April 1902, McLaughlin received his liquor license. In October of 1909, Goshen police came to Nappanee to find a “blind tiger” and they had search warrants to search Mr. Laughlin’s place. His place was formerly a saloon-turned “soda parlor”. The police found and confiscated 2 barrels partially filled with pint bottles of beer, some wine, a gallon of whiskey, and other spirits. In March of 1910, he was acquitted of the charge. If he would have been convicted then he would have had a $50 fine and 30 days in jail. Another saloon was Mahler Saloon. It operated until November 1893. It was managed by Wiggins and Mahler. Wiggins disposed of interest to Mahler at the time. Mahler saloon would have been where Rue 152 is now.
Huffman Bakery
Huffman’s Bakery was started in 1893 by Ogden Huffman. His son Roy Huffman took over the business in 1917 when his father passed away. When they moved into their fireproof building in 1919, it had a flour elevator from the basement to the sifter that was also weighed before entering the bread mixer. The oven has the capacity of 500 loaves every 40 minutes.Their bread delivery division started in 1920 when Roy Slagle and Edgar Pippenger began to peddle bread and pastries throughout the state. They were famous for their Mothers bread line.Roy passed away in 1934, and his wife Bessie took over. She was truly a woman out of her time when it came to being a female in a management position.
Stoops
The bakery was started by Horatio Stoops in 1889. He opened the restaurant and bakery business on South Main Street. It carried a full line of baked goods and he could supply them at all times. The bakery also had a lunch counter that was very popular with local farmers. During the summer months, Ice cream was the main feature.The bakery was purchased by the Moyer Brothers and then later Albert Matzdorf. He learned the trade of a baker and a candy maker in South Bend where he worked for a number of years. He operated the bakery and made candy for the restaurant trade. After Mr. Matzdorf purchased the business from the Moyer Brothers, he revamped things entirely and the business began to take on a different tone at once. He continued to operate the bakery until 1904 and then he let that go and focused on the restaurant and devoted all of his time to it.Meals were served regularly in the dining room. Albert and his wife made a special effort on the line of catering for receptions and weddings, and the services were very popular. Mr. Matzdorf sold to W.B. Rensberger in August of 1906 and they moved to Colorado.
Richmond and Tobias
In 1908, Weygand Brothers started a business in the C.R. Stoops building on South Main Street. In 1910, the restaurant moved again to be where the Collins Second Hand Store was. 1912 brought many changes to the restaurant. In that year, John Tobias was bought into the business and then the name changed to Weygand brothers and Tobias. Then in 1928, John Richmond bought into the business, and then they became known as Wegand, Tobias, and Richmond. In 1935, John Richmond took over John Tobias' interests and turned the business into Richmond and Son.
Star Bakery
The Star Bakery had started at Arthur Hartman’s residence in 1904 on South Main Street. Arthur and his wife, Cinderella started their bakery in their home by baking 5 loaves a day and they were delivered in market baskets to prospective customers. They had two cookstoves to do all the work. In 1905, he went to Weiss and Frevert and purchased a portable stand oven. They eventually built a modern, up-to-date, clean, and sanitary bake shop that complied with all the rules and regulations. They had all kinds of bread, rolls, rusks, cookies, wafers, fancy cakes, doughnuts, and pies. In 1912, Roy Huffman purchased the bakery from Arthur’s widow.
Many restaurants on South Main Street
In 1879, Samuel Hartman added a restaurant possibly to the Nappanee House. Wolf and Lefler was a popular European restaurant that was located one block north of the Napanee House. They kept fresh oysters that they had constantly on hand and served them in any style that you wished.J&J Metzler’s Star Bakery and Restaurant was founded in April of 1888. The Bakery – they had a skilled and experienced baker. They provided bread, rolls, cakes, and pies. The bakery had a line of fine work that included fancy cakes for weddings, parties, and festivals. They also had the most satisfactory prices. The restaurant was run by a creditable manager. Ladies without attendants could go and be treated nicely. Many could get a good meal at any reasonable hour on short notice. Season oysters served in any style to suit. During the summer months, ice cream was made. Their ice cream had a wide reputation and was furnished in any quantity desired. Anson Strohm was in the restaurant business for 15 years. His restaurant had been on the east side of South Main St. He handled fruits and vegetables in their seasons, tobaccos, cigars, and candies. He also had a lunch counter and dining room and served meals at all hours.
Kandiland
It was operated from 1922 to 1961 by George and Lelah Machures. It had wooden booths with high backs (kids carved their initials in) and marble tables. A big mirror hung behind the counter, where large apothecary jars filled with jelly beans, peanuts, and much more. Soda and sundaes were famous around Nappanee.In 1927, they got a bread and sandwich toasting machine that was brought over from Goshen and installed and was ready to serve any kind of sandwich from the lowly pork to the most dignified club sandwich. In 1937, they received a new soda fountain that was manufactured by Liquid Carbonic Corporation which had been making fountains for 40 years prior to its being installed at the time. Kandiland’s fountain was the best and it had numerous features and advantages.Mrs. Machures was known for cutting up loaves of bread into cubes and piling them into mounds around the parking meter in front of Kandiland, making it a popular feeding station for the hungry birds in the wintertime. It was known that she would also purchase hamburger and other items to feed stray animals that would also congregate around the store.
Nappanee Bakery and Oysters
Originally, the building was built in Locke and was moved to Nappanee. Nappanee Bakery started out in this building probably most likely after it was moved from Locke to Nappanee. In 1884, I.N. Shook was the proprietor. They were said to have the best stock of oysters, clams, and canned goods. They also were known for having ice cream and lemonade. The bakery was gone by 1885.In July 1885 Henry Best began the market to handle meat and groceries. Mr. Best worked early and late and stuck to his business. The market was equipped with steam power and a meat cutting machine of the best make. They manufactured bologna, fresh sausage, and everything known to the meat trade, including tons of lard every season. The slaughterhouse was next to the Best home on Walnut Street. Information about Oysters Oysters could be served with beefsteak, stuffed in a turkey, with scrambled eggs, or even with frog legs and Parmesan cheese. advancements in food preservation and transportation transformed the oyster industry.From 1880 to 1910, oysters were harvested in mass quantities. Each year it was said that 160 million pounds of oysters were harvested. How abundant they were made them very inexpensive, which boosted their popularity. They were eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and by everyone no matter their social status. Oysters in the 19th century were served like burgers and fries today. Today, oysters are less abundant and more expensive. A combination of overharvesting and disease has depleted once-plentiful oysters’ beds in the Atlantic Ocean, decreasing the supply. The Pure Food and Drug Act was passed in 1906 and required more stringent regulations for hygienic handling, packing, and shipping of food items. This caused many oyster-packing houses to go out of business because the new regulations raised costs.
