EVERY TOWN HAS that store, the place everyone talks about, the one swirling in rumors. For Mill Valley, it’s the Marin Oriental Rug House. Situated at the center of Tam Junction in Mill Valley, the building with its distinctive domeshaped, mosaic tile facade is unmistakable and deceiving — it belies the massive interior, which houses thousands of rugs and tapestries, 7,000 square feet of product. Original owner Taghi Rezaian opened the oldest rug store in Marin nearly half a century ago. Rezaian’s name has been in the news, as his son Jason, a journalist, was captured and held while reporting in Iran in July 2014, then released in January of this year. But that’s not the reason people talk about the store. It’s the signs. Is the place closing, as suggested by a current iteration of the signs that have been up for many years, or is it going out of business? There’s a distinction — and current owner Max Safavi 
knows what it is. His is one of the last Oriental rug stores in Marin. The Abraham store in Mill Valley is out of business. So are the two San Rafael stores and the one in Tiburon as well. Safavi has run the business at Tam Junction since 1994, but his partner, Masoud Mossabeh, owns the land. Mossabeh retired and is looking to sell the building, meaning the business at this location may close. But casual longtime observers can be forgiven for being confused. So what’s the deal? “It is not going out of business,” Safavi says. “The rug store will continue whether it is here or in a different location in Mill Valley or Strawberry.” So there you have it.
therughouse.com
Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is never-ending.
