Mac’s Backs Books Will Move From Its Longtime Coventry Location This Fall

After 33 years at 1820 Coventry Road, Mac’s Backs Books is hauling its operations across the street this fall. This marks the store’s fourth move through the Coventry Village neighborhood since opening in 1982.

The idea first struck Mac’s Backs owner Suzanne DeGaetano about a year ago, when the building at 1807 Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights 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.

“We’re going to be celebrating our 50th anniversary in a few years,” DeGaetano says. “We decided that it’s our best chance of being a successful store, you know, 50 more years from now.”

Mac’s Backs is famously a sea of stories, with boxes and stacks of books on the store floor to navigate like a maze, alongside endless shelves of titles from local and national authors. A balcony upstairs has more books, and a meeting room in the basement accommodates special events, book clubs and readings for about 25 people.

“I love the intimate feel of it, but it's not handicap-accessible or ADA compliant,” DeGaetano says. “We just felt we needed a bigger space on one floor.”

In addition to accessibility, the move comes primarily out of a desire to create more gathering space and expand the stock of genres like children’s books and poetry collections.

“We want a new generation of booksellers to be able to thrive,” DeGaetano adds. “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.”

READ MORE: Shop Cleveland's Best Independent Bookstores for Your Next Read

Most notably, the current Mac’s Backs is adjoined to Tommy’s, a classic Coventry restaurant that has shared much of its clientele with the bookstore. DeGaetano empathizes with customers who will miss the seamless feel of floating between spaces, but reassures them that the store’s neighborly ties won’t be lost with the relocation.

“There's a true sidewalk culture here,” DeGaetano says, “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.”

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