[3] Due to the store’s iconic status in Central Massachusetts culture, “spags” has come to be used in the Central Mass regional dialect as slang for “assorted goods that were obtained at very reasonable prices”, in a manner similar to how a “whiz” in the Westborough dialect refers to hobby stores that utilize their backroom to host tabletop role-playing game tournaments and how “tupperware” colloquially refers to any plastic food container with a lid and sometimes even glass food containers, regardless of brand.
[7] The location became Spag's 19, but in September 2004 Building 19 owner Jerry Ellis said the store was not profitable in its current format.
In June 2007, tentative plans were announced to close Building 19 and demolish the structure to make way for an affordable housing project.
They were to be replaced with 250 apartments, 13 townhouse units, and 80,000 square feet (7,400 m2) of retail space anchored by a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) Whole Foods Market.
The store did not accept credit cards, and Mr. Borgatti was able to purchase truckloads of inventory at low prices by offering immediate payment in cash.
The term "Spag's mentality" was coined to describe the thrifty mindset found among the store's customers.
One example of the Spag's mentality is the sheer number of shoppers that would visit for the store's annual spring tomato seedling giveaway.
In an early scene in the movie The Place Beyond the Pines, the character played by Ryan Gosling is wearing a Spag's T-shirt, inside out.