 Eric Tienken, president of Tyco General, Inc.,
inside the humidor at Cigars Limited in Fresno.
 
Fresno, CA – Eric Tienken’s entrepreneurial ways began while he was still growing up in Fresno.
As a kid, he was always coming up with ideas for business ventures. One of them started out as a simple lemonade stand.
“It got out of control,” Tienken said. “We were selling chips and hot dogs and brownies, and the police department shut us down. We got a little too big, we were blocking the road.”
At 12 years old he started a newspaper recycling business with his friend, Don, known as ED’s Recycling. The two got neighbors from the neighborhood to save newspapers for them, which they would collect and recycle. Tienken’s garage ended up filled with newspapers, and the boys had no way to take them to the recycling center. Tienken’s father ended up charging the boys for storage, the labor he provided as well as the gas it took to haul the newspapers in his truck.
“He taught me a good lesson, because he wanted me to see what the real cost of doing business was,” Tienken said.
Tienken was very bright, but he found school boring. He attended Fresno City College for 10 years. His first real job was at the old Walter Smith clothing store at Fashion Fair Mall. He would then go on to work at the Gottschalks at Fig Garden Village before starting a cell phone business.
He eventually went into construction in 1991, the same field his father had chosen. He loved the work, because it allowed him to use his creative side. He has a passion for commercial construction.
“I love developing real estate and land and conceiving projects and building, it’s exciting,” Tienken said.
For his first years in construction he had a company that did only residential projects. In 2001 he sold the residential business, which was under the title of The Remodeling Group, and incorporated the business. His business was now called Tyco General, Inc., named after sons of his, Tyler and Cole, two of a set of triplets who tragically did not survive birth eleven years ago.
Initially, Tienken worked all over the state, and never really focused on Fresno. He called it “following the money.” Tienken now always tries to buy and work locally.
“We’ve made it in the last two years a priority to do no work outside of an immediate area, which is Bakersfield to Sacramento,” he said.
At Tyco, he does business development and enjoys creating projects. He will find land or an opportunity with tenants, and present his idea to an investor or a developer. Tyco will then build the project. He did something similar with Terance Frazier of TFS Investments on the Fultonia Live/Work Village, a mixed-use development in a new district between downtown Fresno and the Tower District known as SOTOW (South of Tower) District.
“Instead of waiting around for our phone to ring, which we never do, we go and create our own work,” Tienken said.
Another project of his was on the Rowell building in downtown Fresno. A few floors were remodeled, in addition to the exterior. When it was clear that parking was needed, Tyco worked with the city of Fresno. They burrowed through the side of the building and created an underground parking garage, redoing the basement.
“That allowed them to lease out more space because they had the parking requirements,” Tienken said.
He often enjoys working with big-name clients such as Panda Express and Baja Fresh. They will own the entire center they are in, and then take the end cap and lease it out.
“So we would follow the money and go with the brand, and end up landing the opportunity to build these strip centers and all the tenants that go in them as well,” Tienken said.
He does much of his work at Cigars Limited, located in Fig Garden Village in Fresno. It’s a place where he can relax, do business and network at the same time.
“To be honest, some of the best projects that I’ve done got thought up and written out on a napkin or the back of a cigar box, and are done,” Tienken said.
Tienken is also involved with Veristone, a limestone product that can be coated over a foam shape and can produce items such as columns for buildings. He acquired a leasing agreement a couple of years ago to produce it in an 11-county area here. He already had a foam company, ProFoam, that makes pretty much everything out of Styrofoam. Tienken eventually wants to recycle foam on a large scale.
“I’m excited about that because we’re keeping it out of the landfills and doing our part,” he said.
The community has greatly benefited from Tienken’s involvement. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Fresno, and is also involved in Northwest Church. Tienken is also on the board of Rotary Storyland and Playland.
When he is not working or enjoying cigars, one of his passions, he is spending time with his wife, Jane, and their children; Alexandra, Devin, Faith, and Grace, also called “Beans.”
In the future, he is looking forward to watching his children grow, and being the best father and husband he can be.
Tienken even shared his personal mission statement: “For those who know me best to love me the most.”
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 Eric Tienken - TYCO General, Inc. |
