Gregorys Coffee Builds Scale as Trade Pressures Brew

The coffee industry has long been split between the mass-market efficiency of global chains and the artisanal cachet of specialty cafes. Think: giants like Starbucks and Dunkin’ on one end, and single-origin, pour-over purists on the other.

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“What I had seen 20 years ago when I started this business, and what I continue to see today, is people have to do a this or that,”  Gregory Zamfotis, founder and CEO of Gregorys Coffee, told PYMNTS. “They can’t do high quality and also service a lot of guests.”

His own company’s solution? To build systems that protect quality while enabling volume, betting not only that there’s a large middle ground of coffee drinkers who want better coffee without slowing down, but that it’s possible to operationalize craft without turning it into a commodity.

Founded two decades ago in Midtown Manhattan, Gregorys Coffee now operates 54 locations, 22 in New York City, two in Connecticut, three on Long Island, and seven in New Jersey, with recent expansions into lifestyle centers and mall spaces through a partnership with Simon Property Group.

But the company’s DNA remains rooted in dense, urban environments, serving time-pressed professionals who demand more than just caffeine.

Navigating Tariffs, Supply Chain Volatility

The macroeconomic environment hasn’t made things easy. Tariffs on Brazilian coffee, the world’s largest supplier and the source of much of Gregorys beans, have been a major concern.

“We buy a lot of coffee from Brazil,” Zamfotis explained. “When we lock in contracts six months, nine months, a year in advance … we had no idea there was going to be a tariff. Any future ones … are going to be nailed with some of these elevated expenses, which are not insubstantial.”

Volatile trade policies make forward planning difficult. Gregorys own strategy has been to build resilience into sourcing and pricing, seeking to buffer against swings in green coffee costs. That could mean diversifying origins, renegotiating contracts, or adjusting menu prices more nimbly, all while maintaining brand promises around quality and consistency.

At the same time, operational efficiency in coffee retail isn’t just about brewing faster but also about moving people through the payment process seamlessly. Twenty years ago, Zamfotis noted, 80% of transactions at Gregorys were in cash. Today, that figure is closer to 10%, with most payments handled through cards or mobile wallets.

He personally gets a kick out of the small tech magic moments. “When people are able to pay with an Apple Watch, it gets me every time,” Zamfotis said.

It’s a shift emblematic of Gregorys broader approach: adopt efficiencies from large-scale retail without stripping away the human and sensory elements that define specialty coffee.

From Office Crowds to a Broader Audience

The original Gregorys customer was a Wall Street banker or Midtown lawyer grabbing a meticulously crafted latte between meetings. But that all changed in 2020.

“We used to be very narrowly tailored towards the daytime office population in New York,” Zamfotis said. “Obviously COVID … adjusted, pivoted, changed, and we started testing the brand in more residential, touristy, other markets.”

The results challenged long-held assumptions. Gregorys discovered a broader market, from parents grabbing coffee on the school run to college students and leisure travelers. The company’s partnership with Simon Property Group, placing locations in lifestyle centers and malls, marked a deliberate pivot toward mixed-use environments with more diverse customer bases.

“We’re finding all sorts of demographics that are loving what we do,” Zamfotis said. “When you’re aiming to be sort of America’s coffeehouse, you want to position yourself where just about anybody can enjoy.”

That broader appeal is now a core growth driver. It also makes Gregorys less vulnerable to single-market shocks and the seasonality of office-district traffic, which serves as a critical hedge in a volatile retail environment.

A recent investment and partnership with Craveworthy, a franchise-focused hospitality platform, is designed to accelerate growth while limiting capital expenditure. The model allows local operators to invest in and run Gregorys locations under the brand’s systems, giving the company leverage to enter multiple markets simultaneously.

Ultimately, Zamfotis’ own daily routine of a shot of espresso followed by a cup of drip coffee reflects the duality Gregorys wants to offer customers: intensity and comfort, speed and savoring.

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