Expansion is the story of Gregory’s Coffee. It started in 2006 with one tiny shop by Madison Square Park. Since then the brand has grown to over 50 spots across the country as of 2025. The leap from a single Manhattan café to dozens of stores shows the founder’s appetite for scale.
Yet New York streets are already packed with coffee choices, so market saturation is a real problem. The company’s fix is brand consistency. Each store keeps the same brown leather seats, handwritten menu boards, and loud milk-frothing soundtrack born in NYC. Staff wear matching gray tees and greet guests with the same “Hey, how’s your day?” line whether the store sits in Brooklyn or New Jersey. This look-alike style helps fans feel at home even when they travel.
Same seats, same greeting, same New York coffee in every zip code.
Speed plus craft remains the selling point. Gregory’s doesn’t act like a slow brew bar, but it still pours latte art finished with single-origin beans roasted in Long Island City. The same machines grind beans daily on both coasts, so a cappuccino in Utah tastes like one from SoHo. A drive-through in Paramus opened recently, confirming suburban momentum.
Growth reached New Jersey in 2016 and kept rolling through Hoboken, Paramus, and Summit. A 2019 count showed 30 stores; the goal was near 50 soon. By 2025 that plan is done and more sites are on the way, including a drive-through in Paramus for busy suburban moms.
Food moved in-house after early tests with outside bakeries failed. Kitchen crews now bake vegan muffins date-sweetened without corn syrup right below the initial shop’s basement. Recipes travel with the brand so a spinach feta wrap in Kansas matches the flagship flavor.
CEO Gregory Zamfotis still trains workers himself, using the same family style guide written years ago on yellow legal pads. He says the company culture of tight teamwork travels in Google Drives and Zoom calls rather than subway rides now.
Whether the customer is a Wall Street intern or an Ohio State student, the plan is to keep tasting like New York.
