Hundreds wait in line wrapping around the block for Carpet Company store opening

Zo Salgado started the line outside Carpet Company’s new store at 2:55 a.m. Saturday.

Salgado, 23, who drove from Northern Virginia with their partner, Sarah Wade, 27, passed the time hanging with others in line who joined shortly after they did. Others drove from Newark, New Jersey, for the opening, they said.

“We’re out here because it’s a historic moment for the city of Baltimore,” Salgado said minutes before the doors opened at 11 a.m. “It’s more than just a brand.”

Salgado and Wade said their budget was $600.

“It might be a loose budget, though,” Salgado said. They wanted the pony hair, light blue jacket, earrings and a T-shirt to commemorate the day.

The couple were among hundreds who lined up and wrapped around the block for Carpet Company’s store and cafe opening Saturday morning in the Station North neighborhood. The line started at its entrance on St. Paul Street, snaked down North Avenue and then turned onto North Calvert Street. The line for the cafe, run by Hampden’s Good Neighbor coffee shop, was out the door as well.

The Baltimore-based streetwear and skate brand has been around since 2016 and has grown a loyal fan base. It was started by brothers Osama and Ayman Abdeldayem, who are first-generation Egyptian Americans from Prince George’s County.

The Abdeldayems said they picked North Avenue for their flagship store because they wanted to help liven up historic Station North.

The music playing inside the store spilled onto the street, where people were chatting while they waited. A security guard let a handful of people in at a time. The Abdeldayem brothers spoke with customers and friends inside the store.

Those in line waited for hours on the sunny Saturday morning to peek inside the store’s sleek white-and-red interior.

Closer to the back of the line, with more than 100 people ahead them, were Victor Cornejo and Adnan Shiyazel of Woodbridge, Virginia. Both said they appreciated the sense of community Carpet Company has built. The two have belts, shoes and other merchandise from the brand, and they were excited to support it.

Cornejo said it was “awesome” that the brothers “have a nice little vision for this area.”

“I think they’re just a little early; it’s going to be dope,” he said.

The two friends said they had no budget for the store opening.

“We haven’t splurged in a while,” Shiyazel said. “This would be a worthy splurge.”

Shiyazel added that it was uplifting to see the brand collaborate with the Baltimore community and the Arab community.

Plenty of people were joining the line even after the store opened, including Taiya Davenport, a Morgan State University student. She joined her friend, Goke Ade, who held their spot in line about an hour before the opening. She called the Carpet Company the “modern Supreme.”

Ade said he was never able to go to previous pop-ups but he was determined to see the new store.

“When I seen that they was opening up on Station North, I was like, oh nah, I got to go,” he said. “I’m very excited to see what they got going on in the store.”

The store will be open until 7 p.m. Saturday.