How he grew his cafe to $45 million in sales

Two a long time ago, Gregory Zamfotis found himself at a crossroads. He was a second-year law student at Brooklyn Law School and had just been offered a full-time position at an actual estate law firm. The only problem was that Zamfotis desired to open his own business.

“I grew up in the food industry,” he explains in a brand new interview with Entrepreneur. “My dad ran a number of concepts in New York City, so I grew up with him.”

While studying law, Zamfotis worked in his father’s sandwich shop. At the top of his training, he effectively managed the corporate. In the top, he “really enjoyed” the work and was considering it as a possible profession. He knew that someday he wanted to start out his own business independent of his father’s ventures. After studying law, he took advantage of his interest and keenness for coffee in addition to his experience within the catering industry and decided to open his own café. He was 24 years old.

“If you were in the Midtown Financial District, the areas where the majority of New Yorkers spend their time working, Starbucks or Dunkin would be your only options for coffee, really,” Zamfotis says. “I thought it was a huge opportunity because that’s where I grew up. I wanted to apply what I learned to the coffee industry and do it in a part of the city that was extremely underserved at the time.”

Zamfotis first opened a coffee bar on Park Avenue and decided it could simply be higher than anything in the world. The plan was to explore the drinks, ingredients and atmosphere of the place until it became a everlasting fixture in New Yorkers’ on a regular basis lives.

Day by day, cup by cup, this little shop transformed right into a magnet for normal customers who didn’t similar to the coffee; They were loyal to the brand. The identity was sharpened by daring, playful branding and a menu that refused to chop corners.

“We wanted to run a high-quality specialty coffee operation in a volume setting,” says Zamfotis, describing the early days when he put in “70 to 80 hours a week” at the shop to ensure that the whole lot was running exactly as he envisioned.

Which surprised him

What Zamfotis didn’t fully understand on the time was how difficult it could be to make coffee exceptionally well on a big scale. “I think I was surprised at how complex it was to make really good coffee,” he says. “We could only win if we could stand out from the national players or the other coffee drinkers around the block.”

This realization drove him right into a form of self-imposed coffee boot camp. He visited stores, attended conferences and immersed himself within the craft. “I had to spend a lot of time and energy not just visiting other coffee shops, traveling, attending conferences, listening to speakers, and literally immersing myself in everything coffee-related to become an expert,” he says.

This work modified the culture and the product. “There is a difference between doing things well and doing things great,” he explains. As he improved the coffee program and training standards, customers noticed the difference – and maintained their every day habit. “In the beginning, maybe customers came for all the other things…great service, fast, good-looking store…then as I started to build out the coffee program more and more while keeping all of those other elements so strong, we really started to make things better,” he says.

Today, Gregory’s roasts its own beans in Long Island City, bakes fresh pastries and emphasizes personalization – from milk selection to syrup content – while still being quick. According to Zamfotis, the goal is to make customers feel like they should not sacrificing anything: neither time, nor quality, nor options.

Scaling from one business to 53 – and to $45 million

Zamfotis estimates that it took 12 to 18 months for the primary shop to achieve consistency. The company reached $1 million in annual sales around its second or third yr. That appeal gave him the boldness to open a second location about two and a half years after the primary — and it was an quick success.

“While the first location may have taken 12 to 18 months to stabilize, the second location was stable from the start… it was very busy from the day we opened,” he says.

From then on, growth became a function of systems and folks. “I’ve all the time said you’ll be able to only grow as fast as people [you have] to assist execute,” says Zamfotis. For about 12 years, each person able of authority at Gregory’s was promoted from inside, often starting as a barista.

This philosophy helped the corporate expand from two stores to 53 in New York, New Jersey, Washington, DC, Florida, California, Arizona and Tennessee. The financial data now reflects this footprint. “Last year we made almost $40 million,” says Zamfotis. “This year I think the forecast is closer to $45 million.”

Explore franchising

At some point, Gregorys found itself at a crossroads: either that they had to proceed breaking down their stores separately, or admit that the “incredible box” that they had built was strong enough to share with other operators and grow faster than a single team ever could. That’s when Craveworthy Brands and its CEO Gregg Majewski stepped in as managing partner and business operator in August 2025, bringing with them a platform for franchising starting from training to shared services that might support a nationwide initiative.

“We knew that if we wanted to continue to grow the brand at the speed we needed, the only option was to stick to franchising,” Majewski says in a brand new interview with Entrepreneur.

Today, with a 20-year track record and a typical store that generates about $1 million in annual sales (with high performers at about $1.6 million and drive-thru models at about $1.4 million), Gregory’s is not any longer just the underdog cafe on Park Avenue. It’s a New York-founded coffee brand that is moving into the franchise highlight, with a goal of selling 50 to 75 locations in its first yr of franchising this yr and alluring operators to network with the biggest coffee players in America.

“Any brand that has been in the industry for so long and has been successful in so many markets over the last 20 years is perfect for franchising – especially if you have built a strong reputation in New York, one of the most difficult cities in the world to operate,” says Majewski. Gregory’s has “a group of regulars who absolutely live and die [for] “This brand,” explains Majewski.

Craveworthy Brands brings economies of scale to franchising ambitions. The company has 21 brands in its portfolio, eight of that are already franchising, and provides the infrastructure that early franchisees often lack: training, shared services, construction support and operational systems designed to duplicate performance across all stores. Craveworthy’s portfolio includes brands comparable to Big Chicken, Taffer’s Tavern and Genghis Grill.

For potential franchisees, Gregorys now offers a route right into a sought-after segment that will otherwise be difficult to access. Majewski notes that “some of the larger vendors are sold out or not accepting.” Gregorys offers build-out costs “between $200,000 and $700,000,” he says.

Why franchising works

Majewski makes it clear why he thinks franchising works, not only for Gregorys but across Craveworthy’s portfolio. On the franchisor’s side, the hurdle is ensuring that systems and procedures are in place in order that the corporate can train effectively and implement the product consistently.

On the franchisee side, the challenge is more psychological: “Following the systems and procedures and remembering that you have bought into a system,” he says. The promise is that if the system is well designed and followed properly, it exists “for a reason, so you can succeed.”

Majewski insists that culture is the differentiator of a successful franchise. He says success comes from “establishing an incredible culture in the system” and ensuring processes are easy enough to be replicated. “If a concept is ever too complicated, it cannot be consistent,” he explains.

The goal is that “if you walk into a store in Indiana or in California, you get the same experience,” he says. For Gregorys, which means protecting not only the standard and menu of the coffee, but in addition the texture of a brand born on Park Avenue and honed within the every day grind of New York City.

Two a long time ago, Gregory Zamfotis found himself at a crossroads. He was a second-year law student at Brooklyn Law School and had just been offered a full-time position at an actual estate law firm. The only problem was that Zamfotis desired to open his own business.

“I grew up in the food industry,” he explains in a brand new interview with Entrepreneur. “My dad ran a number of concepts in New York City, so I grew up with him.”

While studying law, Zamfotis worked in his father’s sandwich shop. At the top of his training, he effectively managed the corporate. In the top, he “really enjoyed” the work and was considering it as a possible profession. He knew that someday he wanted to start out his own business independent of his father’s ventures. After studying law, he took advantage of his interest and keenness for coffee in addition to his experience within the catering industry and decided to open his own café. He was 24 years old.