Ristretto Time: Starting (and running) your own Coffee Shop

Three years ago, Ristretto Time stopped publishing.
Not because the story ended — but because the ending still needed to be lived.
In this short return episode, host Gjergj Dollani reconnects with the original Ristretto Time community to share what happened after the microphones went silent — and why the story of Café Chocolat has now become a book.
Pouring Dreams is a candid memoir and practical guide about:
• Opening a coffee shop with nothing but optimism
• Learning small-business realities the hard way
• Navigating staff, margins, equipment, and doubt
• And ultimately facing the decision to close the doors
If you’ve ever dreamed of opening a café, run a small business, or simply love real stories about building something from scratch — this is for you.
Over the coming days, early access to the first chapter and a limited batch of signed first-edition copies will be shared with the Ristretto Time community first.
For now, consider this a familiar sound returning.
The grinder is back on.
The coffee is pouring again.
One last pour.

In this episode of Ristretto Shots I read Phil’s email to me about a coffee gig he did, describing how it went and how much fun he had going out on his own and making it happen! This is what it’s all about folks; just getting out of your comfort zone and having a blast doing it. http://www.ristrettotime.com

I have been thinking about doing this interview for months! Ryan and Jamie are the founders of The Nest Family Cafe in Londonderry, NH. They -- just like me -- started without having any coffee or business experience. After over a year and a half of hard work, they took the leap of faith, left the comforts of corporate behind and dove into this new adventure.

We talk about how they started, the easy parts and hard parts of owning and running a business. We talk about how they run their shop, how they manage their staff, marketing, social media and how they feel about their journey as new business owners.

If you are seriously thinking about running a business, listen to Ryan and Jamie and maybe this is the nudge you needed. Learn more about The Nest Family Cafe online at https://www.thenestfamilycafe.com/

I have gotten a few emails with listeners asking what books I recommend. I email each person individually, but decided it would be more beneficial if I just record a Bonus episode. I broke the list in 4 categories: Coffee, Strategy, Operations, Mindset. I end it with some thoughts on work-life balance. As always, email me at [email protected] with any questions or comments. http://www.ristrettotime.com

In this episode, I talk a bit about POSes, but spend a good amount of time talking about various aspects of working with cash and how to protect your business or coffee shop from scammers. I share some issues I ran into and how you can avoid them. Let me know what you think dollani(at)gmail.com. http://www.ristrettotime.com