History

Kebabian’s Oriental rugs in downtown New Haven, Connecticut, is America’s oldest and continuously operated business of its kind. Furthermore, it is still owned and operated by the same family. In 1882, John C. Kebabian immigrated from Turkey to attend Yale College. That year, he sold his first Oriental rug to help pay his tuition and this began our family’s tradition. Around 1920, his nephew, Mihran H. Kebabian, also an immigrant from Turkey, followed in his uncle’s footsteps and took over the now well-established business. After World War II, having both served in the Army, the brothers John P. Kebabian, Sr. and Robert M. Kebabian ran the business until 1992 when John P. Kebabian, Jr., the current owner, took the helm.

Mihran H. Kebabian on left, March 1938

At Kebabian’s we take pride in providing only the best hand-knotted Oriental rugs and carpets from all over the world. In order to ensure this, we travel to the major rug producing countries regularly, seek out, purchase and directly import these works of art. Since all of our Oriental rugs and carpets are heavily soap & water washed after weaving, we are confident that these same pieces will service well and easily after many years of use. We provide complete servicing of your valuable hand-knotted Oriental rugs and carpets, meaning we do a heavy soap and water wash and we do total restoration on our premises. We also provide the correct type of padding for Orientals used on hard surfaces (e.g., wood, tile, marble) or over wall-to-wall carpeting.

Periodically, we demonstrate Oriental rug weaving by hosting Turkish, Turkman and Tibetan weavers from overseas. This allows our clients to see, first-hand, Oriental rug construction in detail, and to get a feel for the difficulty in producing these kinds of floor-coverings and the talent that is required. Invariably, clients greatly appreciate our products after having witnessed the weaving demonstrations.

For those clients who have patronized us over the years, we thank you very much for your business. For those who are not familiar with us, we encourage you to shop around first, then come and see us. At that time we are sure you will say what most others have: "I’ve just never seen such a selection."

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