Coffee shop opens on Greenwich Ave.
GREENWICH — Gregorys Coffee, a fast-growing group of coffee shops on the East Coast, has opened a new store in downtown Greenwich — with the company planning further expansion in the state.
The 1,500-square-foot shop at 342 Greenwich Ave., which opened last Friday, marks the first location in Connecticut for Gregorys. With 46 interior seats and approval for eight more outside, the shop operates in a space formerly occupied by a B. Good restaurant. Gregorys is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
“342 Greenwich Ave. is a beautiful location at the bottom of the hill. Our immediate neighbors are Tesla and Warby Parker, two incredible companies that we are proud to be next to,” founder and CEO Gregory Zamfotis said in an email. “342 checked every box for us, and we were thrilled to make this our Connecticut flagship location.”
At the same time, Zamfotis confirmed that his business plans to open a second location in Connecticut in the Noroton Heights section of Darien. That Gregorys Coffee will open next summer in the new Darien Commons development.
Zamfotis said his interest in expanding to Greenwich was ignited five years ago after serving coffee and pastries at an event for the clothing store Club Monaco at 173 Greenwich Ave. during a sidewalk sale.
He said he became even more familiar with the town after moving to neighboring Purchase, N.Y., in 2018 and then relocating to Rye Brook, N.Y., shortly before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were completely floored, not only with the turnout for the event, but with Greenwich Avenue itself,” Zamfotis said. “We said to ourselves, ‘One day, we would love to open a Gregorys on the Avenue.’ (Moving to Westchester County) was the straw that broke the camel’s back, I simply had to have a Gregorys here. It became a mission to find the perfect location for us to plant our flag in Greenwich.”
Downtown Greenwich already had a number of coffee shops, including a Starbucks at 301 Greenwich Ave., which stands yards from the new shop. But Zamfotis and local business groups believe there is room in the market for another establishment.
“You only have to look around to see how well restaurants and coffee shops are doing in Greenwich now,” said Marcia
O’Kane, CEO and president of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce. “We are confident that Gregorys will be successful. It is exciting to see Greenwich Avenue being transformed into such a vibrant dining and meeting destination.”
In total, Gregorys operates in 34 locations — with 23 shops in Manhattan, three in New Jersey, two in Long Island and five in Washington, D.C. The company was founded in Manhattan in 2006.
“I know our products are high quality because we make everything ourselves,” Zamfotis said. “We roast our own coffee right in New York City. We are a scratch bakery — making all of our products from scratch daily and then baking off fresh right in our stores.
“Our menu has all the classics you know and love,
but also has one-of-a-kind, innovative drinks and pastries you can't find anywhere else. We have a huge offering of vegan and gluten-free offerings — not because it is trendy, (but) because I am plant-based myself,” he said.
The Gregorys in Greenwich is starting with 12 employees. A couple of the new hires gained experience with Coffee for Good, a nonprofit that provides on-the-job training at its coffee shop at 48 Maple Ave. in Greenwich.
“We are really proud to partner with CFG, a group that trains and develops individuals with disabilities,” Zamfotis said. “They are doing amazing things, and two of their graduates will be part of our opening team.”