BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:Don’t roll the rugs up just yet

No one has an easy time getting Hashem Kermani to quit — not even himself.

The Newport Beach entrepreneur, who runs the Orient Handel rug shop on Pacific Coast Highway, lost his store in 1993 when an arsonist burned it down. Kermani flexed his muscles and built another structure from scratch — and his loyal customers, many of whom had abstained from buying rugs elsewhere, lined up around the block when the store reopened almost a year later.

Last year, it looked like curtains for Orient Handel again, as Kermani sold the store and announced plans to retire. He realized before long, though, that he wasn’t ready to pack it in just yet. So the native of Iran contacted his real estate agent and arranged to move to a new location in Costa Mesa, where he’s set to start over in a week or two.

“This business really is the love of my life,” Kermani said Thursday as movers packed up rugs from the Corona del Mar store where he’s operated for three decades.

Rugs — their artistry, their antique value, their sources from across the world — have been the centerpiece of Kermani’s adventurous life. When he was a child in Iran, his father ran a rug exporting shop. Upon emigrating to the United States in the 1960s, he started his own business in Los Angeles before moving to Orange County.

For 35 years, Kermani, his wife and daughter have operated Orient Handel in Newport Beach. His roots may be by the beach now, but he’s traveled worldwide to collect the finest rugs for his shop, passing through China, Turkey, Afghanistan, Morocco and elsewhere. Sometimes, he visits factories. Other times, he’s gone right to the weaver’s home.

Due to Kermani’s high standards, shopping at his store is no cheap matter; some rugs go for more than $10,000. To many in Corona del Mar, however, he’s an institution. Dana Grad, who runs a design furniture store down the block, said she often purchases rugs at Orient Handel to include in packages for clients.

“We’re going to miss him,” she said Thursday as she shopped at the store. “He is the man for rugs.”

Kermani’s new store will be at 3077 Bristol St., Costa Mesa.