Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Ilnicky
Hi Erin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The story of Tri Best was created as a result of everything falling into place at the right time, between what would be two strangers before 2020.
In the summer of 2019 Anthony and Erin Ilnicky set out on their desire to leave California. After Erin was recruited by a Top Real Estate Brokerage, opening their office in the suburbs of Dallas / Fort Worth, Anthony and Erin packed up their bags and left everything they knew in January of 2019. Landing in the suburbs of Dallas / Fort Worth, The Ilnicky family quickly realized, the Lone Star state was calling them home.
Simultaneously, Chad and Tamara Ray were also getting their roots planted as their jobs landed them in Southlake TX in 2017. Working in the energy industry and the banking industry consecutively the Ray family knew there was more to their story.
Chad had found himself working overseas a lot and had wanted to go off on his own for a while. The Ray family had owned several businesses in the past but Chad had never ran them fully. He was always the one who raised the money and guided the company in the right direction and eventually sold those businesses.
During the 2020 pandemic, as people were realizing their current homes were no longer meeting their needs, the demand for Anthony’s construction know how started to take off. With Erin’s connections to the real estate industry, their worlds were running in parallel and soon would collide head on with the Ray Family.
After Anthony had been sought out by real estate agents to refer to their clients for work to be done on their homes, a mutual friend between the Ray’s and a co-worker of Erin’s had referred Anthony to do work on their house that was on the market.
It was this encounter that we mark as the day it all happened.
Anthony had been hired to do misc work around their house, one of them being to replace all the exterior lantern lights on the house. Anthony being who he is, decided they didn’t need to be replaced, but just spruced up. So with that, he brought home, to a very pregnant wife, multiple lantern lights and the two got to work.
When Anthony returned the lights and relayed the story of how they were scrapped, painted, and repainted three times over to get the color and texture perfect, it was this moment where Chad and Tamara both knew they had stumbled onto someone special.
It took about 10 mons for them to finally find a home, and when they found the perfect one, they knew who to call to get it remodeled to meet the needs of their family.
It was at this time in 2021, where the decision to use their personal home to launch Tri Best Specialties into the remodel game in Southlake Texas was born. Chad was unfortunately laid off at this time as well, only cementing the idea their chance encounter a year prior was meant to be.
Going in as partners, Anthony handling the construction side of the business, Chad running point on all the logistics of the remodel and Erin handling the marketing and operations, the world of Tri Best Specialties hit the ground running in 2021 and has quickly made a name for itself since.
Taking home Best Contractor, Best Home Improvement and Custom Closet Design two years in a row by a local Southlake magazine’s Best Of Reader’s Choice awards, Tri Best has become a well known and respected General Contractor located in Southlake TX with work branching out to the surrounding neighborhoods of Keller, Colleyville, Trophy Club, Grapevine etc.
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?
Starting your own business during a pandemic, while raising a young family, building a team from the ground up, making genuine relationships with vendors and subcontractors all while trying to make a name for yourself in a brand new city… is not for the faint of heart.
While we have been so fortunate our work speaks for itself and our main source of work comes through referrals, we try to make it look easy.. but it is not.
Oftentimes you will find us working 15 hr days, weekends, in any weather condition (it gets HOT here in Texas in the summer) but without fail we show up everyday for our clients and for our team.
We also experienced a devastating loss with one of our very team members in losing his battle with mental health in 2023. This alone was a traumatic blow to our entire team. We will forever be thankful Vicente was apart of our team and we miss him everyday. We are so thankful his brother has decided to continue work with our team.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Tri Best Specialties was originally founded by Anthony Ilnicky in California, who worked under his father as a union-trained carpenter for the past 15 years since moving to DFW in 2019. Leading multi-million dollar projects such as public buildings, schools and hospitals. Built upon its three founding principles of quality work, commitment and honesty.
To date, Tri Best is known for our residential home remodeling and new construction services.
We are so proud of the team we have built, without them none of this would have been possible. We truly act and treat everyone like they are family. We don’t take it lightly that they aren’t just our employees, but their families are reliant on us as a company.
The world of construction is ever changing, and with the rules and regulations being more lax here in TX than other areas, it’s important that people find a contractor they can trust. We have heard so many horror stories of people being burned by their contractor and we are working everyday to break the stigma that all contractors are shady.
With Anthony being a union trained carpenter, you honestly won’t find anyone else with his eye for details and someone who holds himself and his team to very high standards.
We have worked on some amazing projects since our inception, full home remodels, the Southlake Carroll Emerald Belles locker room, flip houses, 6,000 sqft full home remodels. a professional soccer field, tons of projects with the local Elementary Schools. At Old Union Elementary school we have remodeled their outside garden / putting green, their teachers lounge, spirit shop and so much more!
Won Southlake Styles Reader’s Choice Best Contractor, Home Improvement, Custom Closet Design two years in a row.
What matters most to you?
Our reputation is everything
Trying to build a business in a small town can be challenging. One wrong move and you may not recover from it. But by showing up everyday and performing the job at hand to the absolute best of our ability building a business in a small town has been nothing short of amazing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tribestco.com
- Instagram: tribestspecialties
- Facebook: tribestspecialties
Image Credits
Mike Lewis
Michael Hunter
