John Martin has been a trusted local manufacturer of custom cabinets and countertops for kitchen and bath for 27 years. A Frostburg native born in the old Miners Hospital, John spent 26 years in the Navy before retiring and settling back in Frostburg.

 

After spending years in the submarine force and as a local Navy recruiter, John had the desire to run his own business and started producing countertops in Frostburg in 1992. Realizing that he needed to sell more than just countertops; John and a childhood friend bought out a hardware store and cabinet builder on Main Street (the current location of The Draft Sport Bar & Grille) and started producing cabinets and countertops as Mountain City Cabinets at their Martins Run location.

 

Since its inception, the business has grown to 14 employees spread over 3 stores. The Frostburg location is the flagship, accompanied by a larger facility in Everett Pennsylvania, and an outlet store in Hagerstown. In 2005, John’s business partner and co-founder passed away, leaving John as the sole owner of the business.

 

John is a fount of information about local business history. He described how the building next door to Mountain City Cabinets was a shirt factory that produced military and naval clothing. During his years in the Navy, he proudly wore shirts produced in his hometown, next to his future business!

 

Throughout his years in Allegany County, John has been very active in the American Legion and VFW. Mountain City Cabinets has donated to local schools on multiple occasions, including a significant donation to the construction of Mountain Ridge High School’s ticket and concession booth.

 

John spent years away from Frostburg but ultimately decided to open his business here. He explains, “it’s familiarity. It only takes five minutes to get to work, and when you’ve been here as long as I have, you know people and you know where to get things done.” Throughout the years, Mountain City Cabinets has stayed low tech but high quality and has remained a thriving business for nearly 30 years. The business’s reputation does all the work. “We don’t advertise much,” John laughs, “we don’t have to.”


Dana Bridges, FrostburgFirst Marketing & Communications Coordinator

June 2019

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