Vespa Gayle and Stephen Materne fell in love with the Vespa scooter on a family trip to Rome in 1977. In 2005, the couple and their two sons purchased a building in New Orleans' warehouse district, and began to construct a state-of-the-art glass and steel showroom--complete with an upstairs apartment residence.
Then Hurricane Katrina slammed into the city, breaching the city's levy system, and resulting in a massive disaster. Like many other residents, the Maternes were forced to evacuate; upon returning three weeks later, they found their showroom-to-be in ruins. Now, the family is working to follow through on their dream, believing that the Vespa could be the perfect product to help get the city back on its feet.
