Columbia native Myles Williams loved taking trips to Lexington Market to eat at Faidley’s Seafood as a kid.

“I remember going there all the time growing up and going to get a crab cake,” Williams said. “That was very nostalgic for me.”

So when it came time to honor Baltimore with a stylish new sneaker, the New Balance associate product manager pulled from his childhood for some inspiration.

On Thursday, New Balance, the sneaker and apparel company with a long history in Charm City, is releasing a “Baltimore” sneaker with color nods to the state flag and Faidley’s.

The red shoe — which recalls the heraldic flag and Faidley’s menu signage — is part of the “Baltimore vs. DC” pack, two sneakers from New Balance’s 993 line inspired by the neighboring cities. The shoes retail for $199.99 each on New Balance’s website.

No one at Faidley’s had any clue this was happening, said Alicia Mozina-Sidhu, the restaurant’s director of sales and marketing. There’s been no communication with New Balance.

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In fact, Mozina-Sidhu only found out on Tuesday because she’s the most tech-savvy member of the business: The Google alerts she had turned on said Faidley’s was mentioned on, of all places, sneaker websites.

“I almost fell out of my chair,” Mozina-Sidhu said.

Williams said the Baltimore shoe, which has black and yellow accents, features bolder colors than its pastel, brunch-inspired D.C. counterpart because it needed to reflect the city’s attitude.

“Baltimore, it’s pretty hungry but it’s very creative and expressive, and people are just authentically themselves,” he said. “So just the attitude of this sneaker, it has all that energy in it and that personality.”

Asked what the recognition meant to Faidley’s, Mozina-Sidhu warned she might get emotional.

“We all feel honored to be thought of as a monumental staple,” she said of Faidley’s, which first opened in Lexington Market as Smith & Faidley in 1886.

Hearing about the Faidley’s staff’s overjoyed reaction to the sneaker put a smile on Williams’ face on Wednesday. He wanted to bring some happiness to people who love their cities.

“You even saying how proud the people of Faidley’s felt, like, it’s an energy thing, and I appreciate to be able to bring people that light, that joy,” he said. “This is about unity.”