Gregorys Coffee Is A Plant-Based Mecca

If there’s any virtue within the food and drink industry that feels distinctly American, it’s convenience. From the first ever fast food chains, to apps that let you choose from countless dishes to be delivered directly to your front door within minutes, the ability to get our food quickly and easily has resonated with Americans for generations and certainly continues to.

But there’s one counter-argument that’s grown right alongside the quick service restaurant business: nutrition and quality. You want a bacon, egg, and cheese (BEC) on your way to work? Easy. Getting a fruit smoothie with no added sugar, or house-made granola over organic yogurt? Not so much, especially if you’re living outside of major metropolitan areas. And if you’re vegan or otherwise trying to eat fewer animal products, good luck.

Major coffee chains like Dunkin’ and Starbucks have been experimenting with plant-based meat alternatives in recent years, but arguably no chain has had quite the passion about healthy, plant-based options as Gregorys Coffee.

Founded in 2006 by Gregory Zamfotis with the help of his father, a New York City food industry veteran, the company now has 38 locations across the tri-state area and Washington, D.C. Its menu is sort of a greatest hits of the quick service beverage chains that reign supreme in the 21st century, offering classic espresso and matcha drinks as well as fun, novel seasonal drinks and health foodie favorites like turmeric lattes and green juice. Their food menu covers all those demographics and more – you’ve got your baked goods, overnight oats, and classic breakfast sandwiches made with both standard ingredients and – yes, plant-based alternatives.

It’s all a reflection of the founder’s values. Gregorys Coffee has had an emphasis on healthy options for busy folks from the very beginning, but Zamfotis himself went vegan in 2017 and since then has gradually shaped the menu in his image.

“My son is allergic to dairy,” he tells me, “and then I started watching documentaries like Forks Over Knives.” The adverse health effects correlated with overeating meat, eggs, and dairy were too significant to ignore.

In addition to health and nutrition, he acknowledges that animal welfare and environmental issues are important concerns to many Gregorys customers and wants to serve food that suits their values.

The company isn’t narrowing its focus completely – at this time they still offer animal proteins and milk – but by putting the newer plant-based options on the menu, they’re giving the plant-curious an opportunity to make subtle shifts in their diet, even on chaotic New York mornings. When I asked if the customers buying these options were primarily vegans, he said they don’t do surveys so they can’t know for sure, “but given the volume of these products that are purchased, I expect not everyone who orders them are vegan.”

And while other chains are dabbling in plant-based fare with some JUST Egg here, some Beyond sausage there, Gregorys Coffee has truly jumped in with both feet. Currently, their menu includes foods made with products by Beyond Meat and JUST, as well as Daiya, GOOD PLANeT, and a new bacon product called Ozo.

“Gregorys is one of the first at this scale to have a plant-based bacon on the menu—I’m excited about this new offering,” Zamfotis said.

Where some coffee chains have partnered with a single brand to offer partially plant-based foods, such as a breakfast sandwich with Beyond sausage but regular eggs and cheese, Gregorys has built relationships with several hot names in the plant-based food space in order to create a well-rounded menu including several fully vegan meal options.

“The thing that has made Gregorys unique… is that they weren’t satisfied with a single vegan option or a mostly plant-based build,” Andrew Noyes, VP of Global Communications at Eat Just, told me. “Gregorys paved the way for the plant-based movement in the coffee world and many others in the industry have taken note.”

Indeed, David Israel, CEO and founder of GOOD PLANeT foods, echoed this enthusiasm.

“We’re excited to partner with Gregory’s to bring the joy of cheese to customers who are flexitarian, vegan, plant based, or just looking for options that are better for you and PLANeT Friendly,” Israel told me. “We have seen strong demand for quality and choice in plant-based offerings when it comes to their food beyond the grocery store shelves. Customer demand is pushing restaurant partners to bring quality and choice and we’re proud to provide that option.”

There is still an upcharge to swap the dairy milk in your lattes for a plant-based alternative (which has prompted numerous advocacy campaigns and even protests directed at other chains like Starbucks), and the vegan food options tend to run a little pricier as well. But Zamfotis says that’s just an inevitability of the market as it stands currently. “It comes down to the fact they simply are more expensive than cow’s milk,“ he said, and the same goes for other plant-based products. But some of the original coffee concoctions they offer come with plant milk by default, such as the Fall Oat Boy – an oat milk latte infused with cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup, and hazelnut.

As of now, Gregorys Coffee is one of very few quick service chains where you can consistently choose from an array of vegan breakfast options both crunchy and less so – think nutty protein bites as well as a totally plant-based BEC. It will be interesting to see if other coffee brands, especially behemoths like Dunkin’ and Starbucks, follow suit in the near future. If they’re smart, they probably will. Gregorys, and Gregory himself, are proving that plant-based alternatives are much more than just a novelty. They have staying power, and customers of all stripes are beginning to love and expect them when they go out to eat.

But for now, there’s at least one place you can get the cruelty-free, environmentally conscious pick-me-up you need on your toughest weekday mornings – your local Gregorys.

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