How Molly Irani Of Chai Pani Took A Leap Of Faith That Changed Her Life

Radio Cherry Bombe

The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network

Restaurants, 591312, Business, Arts, Food Radio, Interviews, Kerry Diamond, Female Chefs, Radio Cherry Bombe, Entrepreneurs, Society & Culture, Women, Careers, Women In Food, Food, Cherry Bombe Magazine, Talk Radio, Chefs, Restaurateurs

4.6 • 592 Ratings

🗓️ 30 March 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s guest is Molly Irani, co-founder and chief culture officer of the award-winning Chai Pani Restaurant Group in Asheville, North Carolina, and author of the new book, “Service Ready: A Story of Love, Restaurants, and the Power of Hospitality.” Back in 2009, Molly and her husband, Meherwan, were facing an uncertain future during the financial crisis when he proposed something unexpected: opening an Indian street food restaurant. Molly was shocked, but, ever the optimist, she ultimately said yes. Her leap of faith changed everything. Molly joins host Kerry Diamond to talk about what it really took to get Chai Pani off the ground, including writing a business plan detailed enough to win over landlords, navigating financial risk, and learning the realities of restaurant life on the fly. They also dive into Molly’s new book and the lessons she’s learned about leadership, resilience, and building a people-first business. This interview was recorded at Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center. Cherry Bombe on Substack Our new Mom’s the Bombe issue Sign up to hear Molly at Wednesday’s member meeting on Zoom Visit cherrybombe.com for subscriptions, tickets to upcoming events, and more. More on Molly: Instagram, Chai Pani, "Service Ready" book More on Kerry: Instagram, “So You Want To Open A Restaurant” Substack series

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, everyone. You are listening to Radio Cherry Bomb, and I'm your host, Carrie Diamond, coming to you from my hotel room at Fountain Blue, Las Vegas. I'm here at the resort to cover the opening of Cantina Contramar, the new restaurant from Chef Gabby Camera. It's a spin-ff of sorts of her wildly popular Contramar restaurant in Mexico City.
0:24.7	Cantina Contramar was designed by the architect Frida Escobedo,
0:28.2	who is also designing a new wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City,
0:33.6	and she's working on the renovation of Sontra Pompeu in Paris. Very impressive. Some of you know this,
0:40.4	but the restaurant seen in Las Vegas has traditionally been very bro-y. So this opening is a big deal
0:45.5	in Cherrybaum's world. Be sure to check out our Instagram because we dropped our very first
0:50.2	virtual cover and it features Gabby, Frida, and Berta Gonzalez-Nieves of Casa Dugonis
0:56.4	Tequila, photographed by Melanie Dune, to celebrate the opening. Check out our Instagram
1:01.7	and substack throughout the week for more on the opening. Speaking of restaurants and amazing
1:06.9	women on the restaurant scene, today's guest is Molly Irani, co-founder and chief culture officer of the award-winning Chai Pani Restaurant Group in Asheville, North Carolina.
1:18.0	Back in 2009, Molly's life was looking a little different than it does today.
1:22.6	She and her husband marijuana were facing an uncertain economic future thanks to the impending recession,
1:28.6	and he decided he wanted to open a restaurant.
1:31.8	Molly was shocked and scared, but ultimately supportive.
1:35.2	The pivot changed their lives, and she writes about it in her brand new book, Service Ready,
1:40.3	a story of love, restaurants, and the power of hospitality.
1:44.1	It's a great book if you work in hospitality or any customer-facing field.
1:48.2	It's also just a terrific story about optimism and resilience.
1:52.9	Stay tuned for my talk with Molly Irani.
1:55.9	Our interview was recorded at Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center in New York City.
2:02.6	Our Jubilee Conference is just a month away. It's happening on Saturday, April 25th, at the Glass House in New York City,
2:08.3	and we would love for you to join us. This is going to be our 15th in-person Jubilee, which I can't
	...

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