‘The Carpet Man’ set to close up shop
For nearly 40 years, Pat Costello has been known to many as “The Carpet Man.”
Come January, he will simply be known as Pat, the man who has done so much for so many without expecting any rewards or pats on the back in return.
Maybe it shouldn’t come as any surprise that if you do see him from now until the close of business that he’ll be thanking you instead of the other way around, like it should be.
“We’ve been here for so long. We didn’t know how to say thank you to the people in the Cape because I’ve been here a long time,” Costello said.
Costello moved to Cape Coral in 1968 and started a carpet company, The Carpet Master, with a partner in 1975.
Within a year, the partners split and started their own companies. The Carpet Master is history, but the Carpet Man, which Costello created, lived on thanks primarily to word of mouth.
He moved his company, which had been in Fort Myers, back to Cape Coral, bought some property downtown and built his store, which became very successful through great customer service and very hard work, oftentimes spending more time at the store than with his wife of 61 years.
The good deeds he has done over the years are too numerous to mention. Costello, 81, has been a scout master for the Boy Scouts, the first trained one in Lee County. He has also been a supporter of the Cape Coral Police Department and of Cape Coral Little League teams.
He has also done other deeds for organizations that he has asked not to mention. Again, he’s not looking for thanks.
Much is said by so many business people about giving back. Costello is a living example of that. He has given of himself to many.
“I believe in this city. I believe in young people. I give back, I believe in that. You have to give back when you’re doing well,” Costello said.
So modest is Costello that he doesn’t display the numerous plaques he has earned for his service to the community, nor does he want to discuss in public the myriad of things he does now for the less fortunate.
So why does he give back so much? Because, he said, it just makes him feel good.
“People today don’t understand that. If a loved one offers to do something for you and you say no, who are you? These people want to feel good about themselves, and when you say no, it makes them feel awful,” Costello said. “I may be a dinosaur, but I believe in certain things.”
His family inherited the giving back genes. His late son ran Little League while his other son ran the local BMX track.
Costello said the old store has gotten to become a bit much. He sold the store in July and will go out of business on Jan. 13, meaning he has to sell his remaining inventory by then. Before then, he wants people to come by so he can thank them for their friendship.
“I raised my family here, my grandchildren, I just want to say thanks,” Costello said.