“A bit surreal”: Lorne business owners call time after 33 years

TWO of Lorne’s most established business owners will depart their workshop after more than 30 years in town, assisting thousands of road-users and servicing thousands more cars during their tenure.

Lorne husband and wife Paul and Maxine Spizzica have called time on 33 years of service at their business Lorne Breakdown and Towing Service located on Beaurepaire Drive.

The couple announced their retirement from working life last month when it sold the business to long-serving staff member Alex Foreman and his long-time friend Adam Tebble.

“It’s a bit surreal at the minute because we’ve both been at this for so long,” Paul said.

“We just felt it was time, having run the workshop for 33 years and the RACV service for 31, we just have heaps to do outside of work, around the house, going travelling, but we’re feeling good as well.

“We feel we’ve made the right decision and we both fully believe we made the right choice in handing over the keys to Alex and Adam – they’re both terrific blokes.”

Before moving to Lorne, the Spizzicas lived in Melbourne’s outer-eastern suburbs.

 

It was on a job to the Surf Coast town that made Paul fall in love with the coastal haven.

He then engaged in ongoing conversations with former workshop owner Leon Armistead in 1989, who agreed to hand over the business 12 months later in 1990.

“There’s a lot of memorable experiences that I will hold in my heart for the rest of my life, people breaking down on the side of the ride requiring assistance, sometimes even needing a place to stay for the night,” Paul said.

“We’ve been blessed to not only meet people from around the state, but also people from all over the world who have made the trip to our little patch of paradise.”

 

 

Lorne Breakdown and Towing Service has been Lorne’s go-to location for tyre repairs, roadside servicing and assistance, vehicle towing, or any mechanic work since the Spizzica family took over the business.

The multi-faceted business also played a large role assisting broken down cars and stranded festival-goers each year at Lorne’s annual Falls Festival, which was first held in Lorne in 1993.

The festival has not been held in Lorne since 2019, but Paul said Falls Festival always provided one of the busiest times of the year.

Maxine said she will miss the people the most, but she was also excited to explore what’s next in life.

“I don’t believe you ever retire; you just move on to other things you want to do.

“We’ve got six grandchildren in Geelong and Japan, so we’re looking forward to spending more time with them and heading overseas for a bit as well.

“It’s been a blessing to have spent this large portion of our lives here, our children pretty much grew up here in Lorne and after 12 months of moving to the Surf Coast, they never wanted to go back to Melbourne.

 

 

“The best thing we’ll ever have from moving here was making the friendships we’ve made and meeting people from all over the globe.

“It’s been a wonderful town for us.”

The business will continue to remain open as usual and can be contacted by phoning its direct line at 0408 579 868.