History

Jim McSherry bought a used bookstore in Chagrin Falls in 1978 and moved it to Kent, Ohio for a year while he was attending graduate school. It was located on the 2nd floor of a downtown building right next door to a used record store run by the new wave band Human Switchboard.

In 1979 Jim moved the store back to Chagrin Falls where it was located down an alley off of N. Main St. Mac's Backs was a popular book exchange and soon needed to expand to a second location. The Cleveland Heights store managed by Suzanne DeGaetano was opened in 1982 and has since had 3 locations on Coventry Rd.

The first space was upstairs from the Dobama theater and occupied two rooms. The store moved in 1984 to 1785 Coventry Rd. on the north end of the street. The bookstore was able to grow and expand in this location and featured a huge science fiction section along the whole back wall. The front room contained fiction, classics, mysteries and a large cardboard display of American Splendor titles by Harvey Pekar.

Mac's began hosting poetry reading when poets Daniel Thompson and Dennis McDonnell needed a new venue for a reading series they sponsored.  The readings have taken place on the 2nd Wednesday each month since 1984.

In 1993 Mac's moved to its present location at 1820 Coventry Rd. This space has three floors and now the science fiction resides in the balcony. We share a door with Tommy's restaurant, a popular restaurant with a large menu that specializes in vegetarian fare and great milkshakes.