Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/469117
www.wbjournal.com • Worcester Business Journal 57 25 YEARS: IN REVIEW The 771,000-square-foot, $215-million Worcester Medical Center opens after years of legal wrangling over the cost of land-takings, political wrangling over what the city should expect from the owners of the complex, and a delay brought about by a nurses' strike threat. A group of Worcester businessmen files an application with the state to open Commonwealth National Bank, the first new bank in Central Massachusetts in 13 years. Spag's, the iconic Route 9 general store in Shrewsbury, ends its effort to replicate a store in Springfield, closing that opera- tion due to soft sales and an inability to expand the site. The company hires an outside consultant to help reposition, or, in their description, "re-Spag" Spag's. In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, ASA-Delta Connection cuts its Worcester-to-Atlanta service due to a sharp drop in ridership. Massport, which had about $450,000 in airport operating losses in 2001, is forced to make cutbacks. Six years after the death of founder Anthony "Spag" Borgatti, his daughters sell Spag's in Shrewsbury to the Hingham-based Building 19 chain, which changes the store's name to Spag's 19. Two years later, the Spag's name is dropped from the awning, ending a 70-year run. Spag's was an early practitioner of "discount retailing." The cowboy hat-wear- ing Borgatti had launched it in 1934 with a box of fireworks and $35 borrowed from his mother. John O'Brien resigns in October as CEO of Allmerica Property & Casualty of Worcester, and the company announces a sweeping restructuring of its asset-accumu- lation business, which posted a $534.5 million third-quarter pre-tax operating loss, compared with a $40-million oper- ating profit for the third quarter of 2001. American Eagle, Delta and USAirways reduce the number of flights from Worcester Regional Airport, while Pan American Airways stops all service amid continued fallout from the 2001 terrorist attacks. Later in 2002, all but USAirways discontinue service. Yet in March 2003, USAirways pulled out, eliminating all commercial air service from Worcester. Top stories: 1990-2014 Jerry Ellis of Building 19 became part of the Spag's story. 2000 2002 Worcester Airport 2001 >> Continued on Page 58