Building 19 returning to Manchester

The retail business that bills itself as “America’s laziest and messiest department store” will once again open its doors in Manchester following a nine-year hiatus.

Building #19 Inc., a surplus and salvage retailer will celebrate the grand opening of Building # 19 1/20 at 859 Hanover St. in the East Side Plaza on Saturday.

“This grand opening celebration is our way of letting the people of Manchester know how much we appreciate them,” said Jerry Ellis, co-founder of Building #19 Inc.

Doors open at 9 a.m. Manchester Mayor Robert Baines will kick off the event with the undoing of a Velcro ribbon.

The Hanover Street location is the second Building #19 operation in the Granite State. For more than a decade, a century-old shoe mill on Mammoth Road – not far from the new East Side location – was home to Building #19 1/8. Deteriorating building conditions forced the store to close in 1996.

“We have been looking for an opportunity to again be a part of the Manchester community since originally leaving,” Ellis said.

Founded in 1964 by Ellis and partner Harry Andler, Building #19 Inc. operates 16 retail stores throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The company employs more than 1,200 people and sells insurance and railroad salvage, bankruptcy stocks, irregulars, mail-order returns and company closeouts. – TRACIE STONE