Sunday, July 08, 2007
Spag's to be torn down
Here's the story from WBZ:
(CBS4) WORCESTER The owner of what used to be the legendary discount store Spag's is considering plans to demolish the building.
"He was the best retailer i ever met in my life," said Building 19 CEO Jerry Ellis.
Ellis is talking about Anthony Borgatti.
Borgatti was nicknamed "Spag" after his favorite dish, spaghetti. He died in 1996.
"Anytime you need anything, hardware or anything, you could come here and get it. Of course that was before Lowe's and Home Depot and all, when everything was in one spot. It was fairly-priced," said Lou Deamicis.
And that's why Ellis told his employees today he's planning to redevelop the property which could mean demolition. Plans for it include apartments, office and retail space.
"It doesn't work anymore. So that's one -- I'm not saying we're going to do it -- that's one very good possibility," said Ellis.
Ellis understands people are saddened in Shrewsbury where Spag would offer to cater the funeral reception for any town resident.
Mike White, who works at Shrewsbury Pizzeria, is one of them.
"Did it for my family, quite a few of my relatives that had passed away. Pretty much all of them," said White.
Spag and his wife Olive would fly cross-country in their plane to pick up merchandise at good prices.
They gave to the Maple Avenue recreation area, reading rooms at the public library, and presented books in memory of residents who died.
If Ellis tears down what used to be Spag's, folks around here say Shrewsbury won't be the same anymore.
It hasn't been the same since Spag passed away. Neither has the retail business.
Two of Spag's sisters and a daughter declined to be interviewed on camera today. His daughter Jean said she has nothing to say about Ellis' property.
And here's some poor-quality video of Spag's from 20 years ago:
(CBS4) WORCESTER The owner of what used to be the legendary discount store Spag's is considering plans to demolish the building.
"He was the best retailer i ever met in my life," said Building 19 CEO Jerry Ellis.
Ellis is talking about Anthony Borgatti.
Borgatti was nicknamed "Spag" after his favorite dish, spaghetti. He died in 1996.
"Anytime you need anything, hardware or anything, you could come here and get it. Of course that was before Lowe's and Home Depot and all, when everything was in one spot. It was fairly-priced," said Lou Deamicis.
And that's why Ellis told his employees today he's planning to redevelop the property which could mean demolition. Plans for it include apartments, office and retail space.
"It doesn't work anymore. So that's one -- I'm not saying we're going to do it -- that's one very good possibility," said Ellis.
Ellis understands people are saddened in Shrewsbury where Spag would offer to cater the funeral reception for any town resident.
Mike White, who works at Shrewsbury Pizzeria, is one of them.
"Did it for my family, quite a few of my relatives that had passed away. Pretty much all of them," said White.
Spag and his wife Olive would fly cross-country in their plane to pick up merchandise at good prices.
They gave to the Maple Avenue recreation area, reading rooms at the public library, and presented books in memory of residents who died.
If Ellis tears down what used to be Spag's, folks around here say Shrewsbury won't be the same anymore.
It hasn't been the same since Spag passed away. Neither has the retail business.
Two of Spag's sisters and a daughter declined to be interviewed on camera today. His daughter Jean said she has nothing to say about Ellis' property.
And here's some poor-quality video of Spag's from 20 years ago:
# posted by Jim O'C @ 10:10 AM 
