Come shopping, leave smiling: Big Fun returns to Coventry for second holiday pop-up shop

In what started as a small pop-up shop in November 1990 on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights, Big Fun became a permanent fixture on the street on April Fool’s Day 1991—an iconic destination for all things fun and nostalgic for almost 30 years.

It was dismal inside. Wood floor, but not finished; drywall but not finished drywall, no ceiling, [and] construction lights,” Presser says of his first space on Coventry in 1990. “I just put posters up, I opened up a store, and people walked in like, ‘I don’t think this guy’s going to make it, look at the way he has it decorated’” Presser recalls of those first six months. “That was one of the first pop-ups that I know of anywhere.”

Steve PresserPresser made it, moving to a new location across the street, where Big Fun stayed for 14 years before moving again for its last 13 years.

Although owner Steve Presser closed the doors to his popular store in June 2019, he just can’t seem to stay away from the street or ignore the pleas from former customers to open Big Fun once again for the holiday season.

So, for the second year in a row, Presser has opened Big Fun pop-up store, 1814 Coventry Road, in the same space that the store called home for 13 years. It opened the day before Thanksgiving, on Wednesday, Nov. 28, and will remain open through Sunday, Jan. 12. Presser opened a seasonal pop-up store last year during the same period, with much success.

“The community has asked for it,” he declares. “Coventry is a wonderful community. It’s a great block of incredible merchants. And I really miss it. I really, really, truly miss it. It means so much to the community, it means so much to the street, but it means a heck of a lot more to me. It’s just so wonderful to be open and see my old customers again.”

With a warehouse full of merchandise, Presser has an entirely new selection of fun and nostalgic items—from the expected joke, gag, and novelty items and original Flintstones merchandise to handmade afghan blankets and original 1970s Ohio Knitting Mills tunics and dresses, to vintage Rock ‘n Roll posters and bumper stickers.

The eclectic mix offers something for everyone, Presser says, adding that he had at least 562 afghans that he acquired from a defaulted storage locker this summer.

“They’re probably our biggest seller,” he observes. “There are 23 or 24 boxes, with about 20 afghans per box. We’ve sold about 75 or 80 of them.”

Presser sells the afghans for $10 each, or three for $24. They’ve become some of his most popular items, due in part because of the nostalgic feelings they evoke.

“I’ve had so many people come in who have said, ‘my grandmother made these,’ ‘my aunt made these,’ ‘I made these,’” he says. “Let’s just say it takes somebody 10 hours to create this beautiful piece. And I sell for them for $10.”

Original vintage Rock band backstage passesOther highlights include greeting cards from the 1950s, authentic Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling masks from Mexico City, and vintage Halloween masks at deeply discounted prices.

“I’m very well known for my Halloween masks, because I sell them incredibly inexpensively,” boasts Presser. “Normally, what happens is you sell it to a dealer who then sells it to another dealer, who then sells it to a retailer, so it gets stepped on multiple times,” says Presser. “Being the source, I’m selling some Halloween masks for $5, but most of them are $10. Those masks are $30 and $40 masks.”

More than 1,000 vintage “Life” magazines from the late 1930s through the late 1950s, are displayed in chronological order. “They make wonderful gifts to celebrate a person’s birthday or an anniversary,” hints Presser, noting he is selling them for $8 each or three for $20. “The articles are wonderful, the photos are incredible, and the ads are off the charts.”

Presser has a huge collection of vintage rock posters and mini sticker posters, bumper stickers, and original backstage passes from major musical acts, including The Who, Paul McCartney, and Cyndi Lauper. “They’re really, really cool from the 80s and 90s, maybe a little bit of some 70s stuff,” he says.

Debbie Apple-PresserThe shop also features items from local artists, including pieces from Planet Joy Studio in Medina, which serves adults with developmental differences and is run by Presser’s wife, artist Debbie Apple-Presser.

It wouldn’t be Big Fun without the gag and novelty gifts and toys. Presser says there are plenty of board games, mood rings, whoopee cushions, potato guns, and other playful gifts to choose from.

“The whole idea of Big Fun is, if you’re having a crappy day, you walk into Big Fun—it’s a free session of therapy,” says Presser, quoting the motto his mentor, Ted Frankel, now owner of Baltimore’s Sideshow at the American Visionary Art Museum, coined: “Come shopping, leave smiling.”

Big Fun is located at 1814 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights 44118; (216) 371-4386. Holiday hours are Monday through Saturday 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Dec. 13, 14, 20, 21 and the week before Christmas. The store will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day but will remain open through Jan. 12.