est. 2012 · Broad Street, Durham
A shop you can walk into, run by people you can look up
Cardinal exists because the fastest-growing business model in this trade is pretending to be local, quoting $19, and billing $600. Our answer is boring on purpose: a storefront, marked vans, a public licence, and a price book anyone can read.
Fourteen years, one rule
Marcus opened the Broad Street shop in 2012 with the rule that still runs it: the price comes before the work. Everything else (the published book, the flat after-hours adders, the ID checks, the itemized invoices) is just that rule wearing different clothes.
Four of us work here. We cut keys at the counter, rekey half of Durham every time a lease turns over, and spend a surprising part of each week undoing work billed by companies that don't have an address.
- licensed
- bonded
- insured to $1M
- marked vans
how we work
Four rules on the shop wall
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price first rule 01
The number comes before the work
A range on the phone, a firm price in writing at the door, and an invoice that matches it. If the job changes, the price changes first, and you can say no.
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picks first rule 02
We open locks, we don't destroy them
About 19 in 20 lockouts open with picks and bypass tools. A drill only comes out with your written OK, after the replacement is quoted.
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ID both ways rule 03
We check you, and you check us
We match your ID to the address on every lockout. Our techs show their licence card before they start, and we ask you to look the number up.
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the cheaper fix rule 04
We'll tell you when you don't need us
A longer screw, a strike adjustment, or a back door that's already open. If the cheap answer works, that's the answer you get.
please, check us
Our licence, and how to verify any locksmith's
NC Locksmith Licensing Board licence #2417
(a fictional licence number, because this whole site is a design demo. The verification steps below are real, though, and worth using on any locksmith you ever call.)
Look up the licence
North Carolina licenses locksmiths through the NC Locksmith Licensing Board, and the register is public. Search the number from our van, quote or invoice. It takes about thirty seconds.
Ask for the card
Every Cardinal tech carries the physical licence card and a photo ID, and shows both before starting. A real locksmith is glad you asked.
Match the name
The name on the ad, the van, the invoice and the card should all agree. When they don't, you've found a dispatch network, not a locksmith.
Only some US states license locksmiths at all. North Carolina is one of them. If you live somewhere without licensing, lean on the other checks: a real street address, a marked vehicle, an itemized invoice, and a price before the work.
the four of us
Who answers, and who shows up
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Marcus Reyes Owner · master locksmith
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Dana Okafor Residential lead
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Pete Larkin Automotive tech
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June Whitaker Dispatch · front counter
Team members are fictional; photos are stock images.
The whole promise, one more time
Every price on this site is the price we charge. The number you approve before we start is the number on your invoice.
90-day workmanship warranty on every job. 12 months on hardware we supply.
no bait · no switch
One call. One honest number.
Tell us what's wrong and we'll quote the range from the price book on this site. If there's an after-hours adder, you'll hear it out loud before we roll.
Mon to Sat, 8 am to 6 pm · lockout line answered 24/7