Elmwood’s Tulanian Rugs claims impostor rug shop is unraveling their century-old family legacy

This building at the corner of College and Webster was owned by the Tulanian family from 1927 until 2014. The new owner has opened a business called Tulanian Oriental Rugs in the building, setting off a bitter dispute that’s led to a lawsuit. Credit: Nathan Dalton

This story begins in 1922. That’s the year that Hachadoor Tulanian and his wife, Zabel, both survivors of the Armenian genocide, arrived in Berkeley and opened a rug shop on College Avenue in Elmwood. A few years after their arrival, Tulanian bought a building just a block south at 2998 College Ave. and moved his new rug business there. For over a century, 102 years in all, a Tulanian owned the shop. 

But last year Janie Tulanian and her brother Gary — Hachador and Zabel’s grandchildren — retired and sold the building to Hossein Zareii, the owner of Rose Oriental Rugs on Solano Avenue, for $1.75 million.

After six months of renovations, Zareii opened a business called Tulanian Oriental Rugs in the building. 

Now the Tulanian family is suing Zareii, accusing him of trademark infringement, cybersquatting and using the “well known and reputable” Tulanian name without permission. The civil lawsuit was filed with the United States District Court on Monday.

The suit claims Zareii had inquired about using the name through his real estate agent before the sale of the building was finalized but that the family “unequivocally” denied his request. 

Only the building — not the business or brand name — was sold, according to the lawsuit. The official name the Tulanian family used for its business was H. Tulanian & Sons, but the family says it was usually called Tulanian Rugs, which is the domain of their website. In the past, it’s also been called Tulanian Bros.

Zareii said in a phone call that the Tulanian family knew of his desire to use their name for his business and only objected to the use after he became owner of the building.

In addition to registering his business with the city, county and state, Zareii has filed a trademark for “Tulanian Oriental Rug” with the U.S. patent office and created a website using the Tulanian name. (No new commercial signage has been added to the exterior of the building since the sale; the words “Tulanian Since 1922,” long emblazoned above the windows, remain visible.)

Zareii, who said he comes from a long line of rug sellers, told Berkeleyside the name Tulanian is not unique to the Berkeley family and that the name and website domain were “available.” Zareii and the Tulanians had a business relationship prior to the sale of the building, dating back to 2016, when the Tulanians began contracting with Zareii for rug reweaving work.

Janie Tulanian wrote in an email that the conflict has left her family “heartbroken.”

“Our grandfather,” she wrote, “lost his parents and his sister was kidnapped during the Armenian genocide. He fled to America to set up shop and start a new life. The name Tulanian stands as a testament to those difficult years and subsequently to the trust built with generations of customers. … It sickens us to see that they are now being duped into believing they are doing business with our family and business.”

A historical plaque on the outside of the building. Credit: Nathan DaltonThis advertising sign for the Tulanians’ rug business hung in the Elmwood Theater lobby in the mid-1920s. Courtesy: Tulanian Rugs

The Tulanian family’s lawsuit asks the court to order Zareii to immediately stop using the Tulanian name, pay damages and attorney fees, and post signs notifying customers that his rug business is not affiliated with the Tulanians’. The Tulanians are planning to lodge an opposition to Zareii’s trademark application with the patent office.

The Tulanian family and their 102-year-old business were honored by the Berkeley Historical Plaque Project in 2024, with a plaque telling of Hachadoor Tulanian’s arrival in Berkeley and short summary of the long history of the business. The plaque describes Tulanian Rugs as “one of the Elmwood district’s longest family-owned businesses.” 

Though technically retired, Janie and Gary Tulanian still offer rug consulting services and sell Christmas ornaments made from vintage rug scraps on the Tulanian Rugs website.

A photograph of the Tulanian family in front of the building is included in the lawsuit.