Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Carter.
Hi Tim, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Tim Carter, and I’m originally from Bloomington, Minnesota. My relationship with hookah started at a young age. Looking back, we probably shouldn’t have been smoking hookah as young as we were, but what we loved most wasn’t even the smoking itself it was the social environment.
Hookah gave us a place to sit down, relax, talk, and enjoy each other’s company. It was an alternative to going to a traditional club, and at the time, we weren’t old enough to get into those types of places anyway.
One of my childhood friend’s cousins eventually opened two hookah lounges in Minnesota. My friends and I would go there and spend time together, and one of my business partners even worked at one of the lounges. Being around those businesses gave us our first real exposure to the hookah industry. It was where we developed an even greater appreciation for hookah and the lounge experience.
Finding My Way to Arizona
I moved to Arizona when I was 19 years old. At one point, I was expelled from college and ended up going back home to Minnesota. About 30 days later, I decided to try something completely different and moved to Long Beach, California, to work in door to door sales.
That experience only lasted about two weeks. It just wasn’t the environment for me, and many of the people I was around weren’t people I wanted to surround myself with.
At that point, I had about $40 to my name.
I called my dad and asked if he could help me get back to Minnesota. He told me he only had enough money to send me to Phoenix, where I had an uncle and cousins.
So I took my last $40, spent it on a taxi to the Greyhound station, and headed to Phoenix. When I arrived, my cousins picked me up and took me in.
I stayed with them for about a month, and they really took care of me. They fed me, helped me with my phone bill, and made sure I had what I needed while I figured out my next move.
During that month in Arizona, something clicked for me.
I fell in love with Arizona the energy, the vibe, the pace, and the overall way of life. I knew this was where I wanted to be. I told my family I would be back.
I eventually bought a plane ticket back to Minnesota, worked for about a month, and then my childhood friend and I moved to Mesa, Arizona.
Starting With Almost Nothing
When we first moved to Mesa, we stayed with my cousins for a couple of months because we didn’t have much money. The house was already full, so my friend and I literally slept on the floor.
Our clothes were kept on a foldable table.
It wasn’t glamorous, but we were determined.
Eventually, we got our own place and spent the next several years working multiple jobs and trying to build something for ourselves.
Throughout that time, I worked in retail management, door to door sales, and various other sales positions. I even sold Obama phones. I went through a lot of different jobs and experiences, but I always tried to stay positive and keep moving forward\.
My business partner and I always talked about opening a lounge. It was something we had dreamed about for years.
I would constantly look at different retail locations and try to figure out how we could make it happen. I even wrote a business plan. But every time I thought I was getting close, I ran into another obstacle.
The biggest issue was capital. We simply didn’t have enough money to get started, and the city requirements and other challenges often felt like another roadblock.
But I never completely gave up on the idea.
Taking the Leap
Eventually, I took a sales job that allowed me to save a significant amount of money.
At the same time, my business partner opened our Minnesota location. At the time, it was one of only four hookah lounges in the entire state, and the business flourished.
Meanwhile, I was still working in Arizona and spending my lunch breaks driving around looking at different locations, trying to find the right opportunity.
Eventually, I decided I couldn’t keep waiting.
I quit my job.
Around that same period, I was listening to a Steve Harvey podcast where he talked about “leaving the nest” and learning how to fly. That message really stuck with me.
About a month later, I found the location that would eventually become Trilogy Hookah Lounge.
Once I found it, I never looked back.
The name “Trilogy” wasn’t something people automatically understood, so we had to build the entire brand from the ground up and create an identity around what Trilogy represented.
What Does Trilogy Mean?
The name Trilogy has several meanings for us.
From a hookah perspective, Trilogy represents the three essential parts of the experience: the hookah, the shisha, and the coals.
There is also a personal connection to the name. The Weeknd’s *Trilogy* album came out around the time we really started getting into hookah, so the name always had a connection to that period of our lives.
And finally, Trilogy represents family. This is the third lounge that has been opened within my partner’s family the first one in Minnesota being the third before the Arizona location opened up.
So the name has multiple meanings, but they all come together to represent where we came from and what we’re building.
Six Years and Counting
Today, Trilogy Hookah Lounge has been open for six years and is going into its seventh year.
We’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of great companies, organizations, and people throughout the years. We’ve also made it a priority to give back to the community.
We’ve hosted community events ranging from car shows to backpack drives, and giving back is something we want to continue doing as Trilogy grows.
For us, Trilogy isn’t just a place to smoke hookah.
We’re a lounge for people who want to go out without really going out.
We provide a high energy atmosphere, great music, great customer service, and a place where people can feel comfortable and at home.
That’s what we wanted when we were younger a place where you could sit down, relax, talk, listen to music, and enjoy yourself without necessarily having to go to a club.
Now we’re able to provide that experience for other people.
Looking Toward the Future
I’m extremely proud of how far we’ve come because I know where we started.
I’ve gone from having $40 to my name, sleeping on the floor with my clothes on a folding table, working countless jobs, facing rejection and roadblocks, and wondering if opening a lounge would ever actually happen.
Now, six years after opening Trilogy, we’re still here, still growing, and still dreaming bigger.
We’re always looking for ways to improve, expand, and create new opportunities. I want Trilogy to continue growing not only as a hookah lounge, but as a brand and a part of the community.
The goal has never been just to open a business.
The goal is to build something that lasts.
And we’re just getting started.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We opened Trilogy Hookah Lounge in January 2020.
The timing couldn’t have been more challenging.
Shortly after opening, COVID 19 was everywhere. On top of that, the legal smoking age changed from 18 to 21, and Arizona already had a lot of competition in the hookah industry.
We had to fight through all of those challenges while building a brand that people didn’t know yet.
As you know, we’re big fans of Trilogy Hookah Lounge. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
That same sense of family is at the heart of Trilogy. We’re open seven days a week, generally from 6 pm. to 3am, with slightly different hours on Mondays, when we’re open from 7 pm to 1:30 amWe welcome a diverse group of people and work hard to make sure everyone feels comfortable and included.
We don’t serve alcohol or food, but guests are more than welcome to bring food inside. We also host a wide range of events, from paint and sip nights to karaoke and other community gatherings. Our hookah lounge feels like a family, and we’re proud to create a space where people from all different backgrounds can come together and feel at home.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
For me being a dad of two boys, my fiancé, my family, my business, my friends God, all that motivates me to keep going and pushing. And all of these things bring happiness to my life because of the moments and the energy I receive back. And from my friends and family I received so much support and I really couldn’t have done this without them and my community.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.trilogyhookah.com
- Instagram: TrilogyAZ
