The Small Business Spotlight: Glass Phoenix
In this "Small Business Spotlight," presented by American Bank, Austin Meek of Waco Business News highlights Clint Trimble of Glass Phoenix.
The doors of Glass Phoenix at 707 Austin Avenue open to customers looking for CBD and tobacco products, local art, and an inclusive environment where questions are welcomed. Photos courtesy of Glass Phoenix.
On the heels of a tumultuous week for race relations in America, it's clear that in order to move forward we have to reframe our thinking.
That idea was on Clint Trimble's mind last year when he decided to open Glass Phoenix, a smoke shop, on Austin Avenue. This is the heart of downtown Waco, right across from the Hippodrome theater, and I remember hearing from more than a few downtown folks who were not excited about the optics of a "sin den" in Waco's central commercial district.
The bright, plant-filled interior lounge of Glass Phoenix, a smoke shop on Austin Avenue working to change outside perceptions of their industry.
Clint seized that opportunity to flip the script and create a clean, inclusive environment that helps soften the stigma. I'm proud to share this month's Small Business Spotlight, presented by American Bank, on Glass Phoenix.
"There are two types of mindsets in Waco: there are those that build bridges and those that build fences. Don't be a fence builder! Very, very few people in this community can get past fence but we can all cross a bridge. So be open to any and all the people that come through your door."
Glass Phoenix sells tobacco, CBD products, glassware, locally made art, and a slew of other holistics. Katie Ellis is the shop's general manager.
"We don't have a huge selection but like I said, we have a little bit of everything. There is something for everyone here."
The hardest thing for Glass Phoenix is overcoming stereotypes associated with the industry. People may hear "smoke shop" and conjure up images of tacky Bob Marley posters, cheap pornography, and other unsavory items.
Artist Katherine Makowsky’s painting of a red phoenix adorns the back wall of Glass Phoenix.
Glass Phoenix doesn't shy away from the smoking label - Katie told me cigars are one of the shop's most popular items, particularly after concerts at the Hippodrome or a night of clubbing at Austin's on the Avenue - but the shop has high ceilings and large, clear panes of storefront glass. The floor is a beautiful glaze of starry night constellations; artist Katherine Makowsky painted a regal Phoenix, the mythical bird that rises from the ashes, on the back wall.
Glass Phoenix is certainly a smoke shop, but it's an elevated concept unlike anywhere else in Waco.
"The flagship statement of Glass Phoenix was to make our style of shop approachable for all parties. If people had questions, we wanted them to come in and have people to talk to, not just a form online or some kind of a talk group that may or may not be biased. So we definitely aren't. We are open to whatever comes through the door, and whoever."
One thing that brings customers to Glass Phoenix is the wide selection of CBD products. Clint said that CBD salves, lotions, tinctures, even cigarettes are purported to help with anxiety, mental acuity, stress relief, autism and more. But due to murky legality of the cannabis plant, the non-psychoactive qualities of CBD haven't been fully studied.
Glass Phoenix carries a wide range of products, including cigars.
"For people to look at CBD and say, 'Oh, it's a miracle drug,' it really isn't. It's just a thing we haven't had access to outside of going through third party circles. Now that is not the case and it's much easier for people to find exactly what they need through CBD, which is usually just a supplement."
Especially during the pandemic, customers have been turning to CBD. Katie showed me a few of the shop's most popular products.
"We have essential oils, CBD bath bombs. We even have anti-wrinkle creams. We have dog conditioner shampoo with CBD in it. There really is something for everybody"
The market for CBD products globally was $7.1 billion last year, and it's expected to rise to $9.1 billion in 2020 and over $23 billion in 2025. Just looking at the numbers, it's clear that this is big business. New players are entering the space and some, like Glass Phoenix, are offering an elevated take.
The work isn't smoke and mirrors. Clint admitted he's still at the shop every day and has received very little financial kickback thus far. But he's committed to changing the perception of his industry and is in it for the long haul.
"For Glass Phoenix, yes, we sell tobacco-related products. Yes, we sell things that in the past have had very negative propaganda in place of them. But for us, it's not about the past. It's not even about the present. It's about the future. It's about what Glass Phoenix can become and what these products can be for people now that the conversation and the community around these products is beginning to change and shift."
The Small Business Spotlight is presented by American Bank with three locations in town including an expanded branch at Franklin and 4th.
This "Small Business Spotlight,” co-produced by Waco Business News and KWBU, first aired on Friday, June 5, 2020, in Episode 83 of Downtown Depot on 103.3 KWBU-FM Waco.