Making the Family Business My Own - Victor Hodgson
Victor’s Sonoma Journey — Making the Family Business My Own
This is the third of three stories about Victor’s relationship with Sonoma Valley.
🟩 Born and Raised in Sonoma — Chapter 1
Born at Sonoma Valley Hospital, Victor grows up in his mother’s preschool and his father’s coffee shop before leaving for college and graduate school.
🟥 I Always Wanted to Come Back — Chapter 2
After earning his master’s degree in Sweden, Victor returns to Sonoma to help preserve the family coffee business and build a life in his hometown.
🟦 Making the Family Business My Own — Chapter 3 (You are reading this story.)
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Victor returned to help preserve the coffee business his father started in 1995. In 2024, he moved it to a family property on Broadway, gave it a new name, and introduced elements of his Swedish heritage. He wanted to honor what his father had built while making the business his own.
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When I returned to Sonoma, I took over the day-to-day operation of Barking Dog Roasters and began learning more of the behind-the-scenes parts of the business.
Running a small coffee shop is challenging. My father calls coffee a “nickel-and-dime industry.” Every extra cup and every small cost adds up. There are many details customers may never think about, but they all affect the business.
Competition has also grown, especially since we moved to the other side of town. I don’t see more coffee shops as a bad thing. In my opinion, more coffee is always better. But competition is still one of the realities of operating a small-town business.
Fortunately, staffing hasn’t been as difficult for me as it can be for other businesses. Coffee shops often provide good jobs for younger people, including college students and recent high school graduates who need experience or part-time work.
Many of my employees have stayed with me for a long time. That continuity is important, and I appreciate that people in Sonoma have been willing to work and grow with the business.
In 2024, I moved the coffee shop to 991 Broadway. The property was already in my family, and it was the same place where my mother had operated the Little School preschool. I now share the property with my brother, who has his business on the other side.
Moving there brought several parts of my family’s Sonoma history together in one place.
I also changed the coffee shop’s name to Småstad, which means “small town” in Swedish.
Barking Dog Roasters was very much my father’s business and reflected his personality. I needed to step out a little on my own and give the café more of my identity. Renaming it allowed me to respect what my father had created while beginning a new chapter.
My mother is from Stockholm, and I spent many summers in Sweden visiting my extended family. I later returned to Sweden for my master’s degree, so I have a strong connection to the country.
I wanted to bring some of that culture to Sonoma. We offer Swedish-inspired items such as cardamom buns, Swedish-style cinnamon buns, chocolate balls, and Swedish candy.
Candy is a big part of Swedish culture, especially on Saturdays. The tradition is called Lördagsgodis, or “Saturday candy.” It is one of the small cultural experiences I can share through the shop.
The business began with my father, and I returned because I didn’t want to see it disappear. Moving it, renaming it, and introducing my Swedish heritage have allowed me to continue that family story while making the next version of the business my own.
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Continuing a family business required Victor to respect its history while having the confidence to change it.
Renaming the café helped him move from operating his father’s business to building something that also felt like his own.
The Broadway location carries several parts of the Hodgson family’s story: his mother’s preschool, his father’s coffee shop, his brother’s business and Victor’s own work.
Bringing Swedish traditions into the café allows Victor to connect two places that have shaped his identity.
Victor understands that the smallest details can distinguish a business while also determining whether it succeeds.
His experience demonstrates that building for the future does not always mean starting over. Sometimes it means giving new life to what already exists.
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This first-person story was adapted from an oral-history interview with Victor Hodgson. It describes how he assumed responsibility for his father’s coffee shop, moved it to a family property, renamed it, and incorporated his Swedish heritage into the business.
