The New Format
Gregorys Coffee, the New York City-born specialty coffee chain operating more than 50 locations across the U.S., debuted its first double-lane drive-thru on September 17 at 360 Route 9 in Manalapan Township, N.J. — the brand's inaugural Monmouth County unit and a format milestone for the 20-year-old concept.
The Manalapan café operates within Craveworthy Brands, a multi-brand restaurant platform and franchisor with more than 20 concepts and over 300 locations domestically and internationally. The double-lane configuration signals a deliberate push into drive-thru-heavy suburban corridors, a departure from the dense urban storefronts that defined Gregorys' early footprint in Manhattan.
Grand Opening Mechanics
Founder Gregory Zamfotis anchored the two-day opening activation with an invite-only Coffee & Chat on September 16, where he demonstrated latte art technique and discussed the brand's sourcing and roasting philosophy. The public grand opening on September 17 layered in a series of time-stamped promotional mechanics: small hot coffees and cold brews priced at $1 from 5:30 a.m. to noon, complimentary full orders for guests placing tickets at the 20th minute of each hour — a nod to the brand's 20th anniversary — and signed bags of Gregs House coffee for orders placed at the 28th minute, a personal reference to Zamfotis' longtime lucky number. A community ribbon-cutting followed at 10 a.m.
The promotional structure reflects a growing playbook among specialty coffee operators targeting drive-thru occasions: time-bracketed offers designed to drive throughput trials across multiple dayparts, building habitual visit patterns from the first week of operation.
Suburban Drive-Thru Context
Gregorys' move into a double-lane drive-thru format arrives as the specialty coffee segment intensifies competition with QSR incumbents and regional chains for suburban commuter traffic. Operators across the coffee category have accelerated drive-thru and off-premise investment since 2021, prioritizing throughput capacity and ticket speed to capture morning daypart share. For a brand built on quality and craft positioning — Gregorys roasts its own coffee and bakes pastries in-house daily — the double-lane format tests whether premium specialty coffee can translate its urban dine-in brand equity into a drive-thru channel without diluting the experience.
Craveworthy Brands' shared infrastructure model, which supports scaling across its portfolio of emerging and legacy concepts, provides Gregorys with operational resources that independent specialty operators typically lack when entering new markets. Franchise development is active, with the brand recruiting area development partners through a dedicated portal.
For Zamfotis, who grew up in the area, the Manalapan opening carries personal significance beyond unit count. "This celebration is our opportunity to thank the Manalapan community for welcoming us and to give guests a closer look at the coffee, craft and people behind Gregorys," he said. The unit adds to a franchise and multi-unit growth story that will bear watching as Craveworthy scales its portfolio across suburban trade areas — and as the specialty coffee segment continues to absorb drive-thru capital investment.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
