Mac's Backs, a new and used bookstore in Cleveland, Ohio, will move across the street to a new storefront this fall at 1807 Coventry Rd. in Cleveland Heights. It has operated at its current location, 1820 Coventry Rd., for 33 years, Cleveland magazine reported, adding that this marks the store's fourth move in the Coventry Village neighborhood since opening in 1982.
Owner Suzanne DeGaetano began considering the possibilities about a year ago, when the building where her store is moving to became available. "While her home of the past three decades holds novel memories, she realized it couldn't realistically support the business's needs as it continued to grow," Cleveland magazine wrote.
"We're going to be celebrating our 50th anniversary in a few years," DeGaetano said. "We decided that it's our best chance of being a successful store, you know, 50 more years from now.... I love the intimate feel of [the current space], but it's not handicap-accessible or ADA compliant. We just felt we needed a bigger space on one floor."
The move comes primarily to create more of a gathering space and to expand the children's books and poetry collections. "We want a new generation of booksellers to be able to thrive," DeGaetano said. "We think that this (move) gave us the best opportunity for that. We'll double our event space and be able to offer more to the community."
She added that the store's neighborly ties won't be lost with the relocation: "There's a true sidewalk culture here, where people meet and greet each other on the street and feel comfortable. It has all the ingredients of a welcoming neighborhood. That's what attracted us here, and that's what keeps us here. I want to be part of this neighborhood and see it succeed."