Spag - His Life and Legacy

From the time he was six years old, it was apparent that Anthony "Spag" Borgatti was destined to become a successful businessman. Starting off by helping out at his parent's store, he then moved on to selling gum on the Boston and Worcester trolleys. As he grew older, he started working for the Fuller Brush Company, selling door to door, then set out on his own by borrowing $35 from his mother to buy some fireworks to sell - which he did, making a huge profit!

He soon opened his own business - the Shrewsbury Tire and Battery Company, located in a building owned by his parents on Route 9 in Shrewsbury, MA. The rest, as the saying goes, is history - Spag went on to become a hugely successful entrepreneur, with his business growing larger and larger over the years. By 1954, he was a millionaire!

Spag's became known throughout the area and beyond - people travelled from all over to shop there for the bargains!

Spag himself passed away in 1996, however his three daughters carried the business on for six more years until it was sold to Building 19. The store closed in 2006 and was torn down in 2016 to make was for the Lakeway Commons complex.

It is hoped, by documenting Spag and his legacy, that not only those who still remember shopping at Spag's, but future generations will enjoy reading about the man himself, his family, and the amazing success story of Spag's!