D. Tillery wrote:Tom, Yes Building 19! That place is great. I have even found Harbour Freight Closeouts in there even cheaper than at HF. You never know what they are going to have so you just have to browse every couple of weeks. The owner is this Crazy Eddy type of character. He had to make a public apology for that ad.
Steve, that site is great. I can't decide which stain I want for my extra $1.
We've got Bld. 19's up here in Mass. too. I know the charachter you're talking about, Jerry Ellis. Ellis bought out Spag's in Shrewsbury a couple of years ago.
Spag's was an institution up here in Central Mass. It was owned by a guy named, Anthony "Spag" Borgatti. Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY in the area shopped at Spags. Spags was the original discount warehouse store. I remember going there as a kid. The place was always packed. There were "no bags at Spag's", no credit cards either, and God help you if they caught you shoplifting.
Spag was respected as much for his values and contributions to the community as his business success. When the State relaxed the Blue Laws, allowing retail stores to open Sundays, Spag resisted. He believed his employees deserved at least one day off to spend with their families. One time, my in-laws, discovered they had been undercharged for a purchase. They brought the item and the register tape back to the store so they could pay the proper amount. The discrepancy was small, less than $30. A couple of days later, Spag sent a guy out to their house a couple-hundered dollars of free merchandise. That's the kind of guy Spag was.
Eventually, competition from the big box stores forced Spag's to finally accept credit cards and open on Sundays. Spag and his wife died several years ago. His daughters took over the business. They couldn't keep the likes of Wal-Mart and BJ's wholesale club at bay forever.
Jerry Ellis, who always admired Spag, bought the store and tried to run it as a separate entity, "Spag's 19". However that didn't work out, the competition was just too feirce. Now Spag's is just another Building 19.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spag's