Books Add a Big Plus to Ohio Store

Cheryl and Raymond Zadd, co-owners of Mail Hub Plus Books, have long been on the lookout for niches to fill in their community of Brecksville, Ohio. Midway between Akron and Cleveland, with a population of 13,000, Brecksville is a little too small to be courted by any of the big chain stores. And that's just fine with the Zadds. "There are no malls in Brecksville," Ray Zadd told BTW emphatically.

In 1988, the Zadds opened a "clone" of a private mailing business, offering packaging, shipping, as well as copying and offset printing services. "Because that's what our community was lacking," said Ray Zadd. They could handle all that in their 900-square-foot store, but no more. Then about four years ago they moved around the corner, to the main shopping drag, into a 3,800-square-foot space. According to town officials and community studies, Brecksville needed a bookstore. So the Zadds complied, allocating 1,400-square-feet to an inventory of general interest titles. The store is part of the national Book Sense marketing program.

"The books have been a very positive addition to the community," said Ray Zadd. "The school system uses us and it's brought a lot of new faces into the shop. We're just a Mark McGwire homerun away from the public library, and, when they have author readings and such, we can stock the books."

The nearest chain bookstores are about 15 miles south, an enormous Borders and Barnes & Noble. Many shoppers favor the attention they can get at Mail Hub Plus Books, especially special orders. Zadd says, "Since we're not a large situation, we service our customers."

Now, customers can rent a video or DVD while buying books, ordering forms, and shipping a gift -- Mail Hub Plus Books is offering rentals too … because they weren't available anywhere else in town.

-- Nomi Schwartz