Pouring Dreams
From Ristretto Time: Starting (and running) your own Coffee Shop by Gjergj Dollani
January 23, 2026 · 6 min
About this episode
In this episode, Gjergj Dollani reconnects with the Ristretto Time community to share the journey of Café Chocolat and the lessons learned in opening a 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.
People in this episode
Host: Gjergj Dollani
Topics covered
- coffee shop
- small business
- entrepreneurship
- memoir
Keywords
- Café Chocolat
- business realities
- staff management
- closing a business
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Café Chocolat, signed first-edition copies
Books & works: Pouring Dreams
More episodes of Ristretto Time: Starting (and running) your own Coffee Shop
- Ristretto Shots: Inspiring email from a listener · April 14, 2023 · 8 min
- 26 - Interview with Jamie and Ryan Getchell of The Nest Family Cafe · September 19, 2022 · 1h 9m
- 25 - Books that helped me through the process · July 28, 2022 · 29 min
- 22 - Cash, POSes and Scammers · June 20, 2022 · 29 min
- 24 - The last days of Cafe Chocolat · February 8, 2022 · 27 min
- 23 - FINAL Episode and Parting Thoughts · August 11, 2021 · 21 min
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