Update: Postmaster Says New Downtown Postal Contractor Will Open Wednesday Morning

Update, 11:30 a .m., Feb. 16

After a delay, the U.S. Postal Service's branch at 974 Main St. is now open for business.

The postal substation opened this morning in the Just What You Always Wanted furniture consignment store after receiving the necessary permits.

The postal counter will be open Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Update, 3:45 p.m. 

Manchester Postmaster Paul Buttafuoco said late Tuesday afternoon that the postal contractor station at the Just What You Always Wanted furniture consignment store at 974 Main St. had cleared all permitting issues and would be open for business Wednesday morning. 

Buttafuoco said he was present for an inspection of the business by the town's Fire and Building departments at about 3 p.m. Tuesday, and that the inspectors cleared the new postal station for occupancy. 

"Our part is all set, but they (the business) had a little issue with some emergency lights with the Fire Department," Buttafuoco said. "But tomorrow morning it will be open by 9 a.m." 

The regular hours for postal service at the new location will be from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. 

Update, 1 p.m., Feb. 15, 2011

The postal contractor station at the Just What You Always Wanted furniture consignment store at 974 Main St. was still not open for business Tuesday. 

Jane Misiek, the manager at the store, said Tuesday around noon that the delay was due to permitting issues with the town's Building and Fire departments. 

"We were suppose to open Monday, but the town wouldn't approve us for the permit," Misiek said. "So we're waiting for the town to approve us." 

Misiek said there was a meeting schedule with store representatives and building, fire, and postal officials scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday to hopefully resolve the issues, but that she could not provide a timeframe for when the postal station might open.

Assistant Chief Building Official Greg Smith  told Manchester Patch yesterday that the department had some concerns about old and  loose wiring at the store. 

Original Story

A new downtown post office branch was supposed to open on Main Street today, but as many potential customers who came to drop off their mail discovered Monday, that was not the case.

Just What You Always Wanted, a furniture consignment store at 974 Main St., has agreed to become the downtown area’s postal contractor, after the Sincerely Yours Postal Contractor Station at 1009 Main St., which had operated postal services in the area for about eight years, failed to reach agreement on a new contract with the U.S. Postal Service late last year.

But the business was not open Monday as announced, while a handwritten sign was tapped to the door that read: “Post office closed till tomorrow.”

Management at the store, which is owned by the WJSJM LLC., could not be reached for comment Monday, but Assistant Chief Building Official Greg Smith said the delay involved a permitting issue that would soon be resolved.

“There are some concerns with the existing building,” Smith said.

Smith said that the business failed to realize it needed to secure new building permits for the postal station, and that the permits were only filed last week, not by the business but by the postal service.

“They didn’t seem to realize that they needed permits to do what they were doing,” Smith said, adding that most of the department’s concerns stemmed from old or loose wiring, which would likely be resolved by late Monday or early Tuesday.

Manchester Postmaster Paul Buttafuoco said Monday that he believed the remaining issues had been addressed and that another inspection by the department, which could come late Monday or early Tuesday, would satisfy their concerns. Buttafuoco said that he expected postal services to be ready to go at the consignment store by no later than 10 a.m. tomorrow.

“We’re in good shape. We’ve got all our stuff set up,” Buttafuoco said. “We’re ready to go.”