Gregorys Coffee, founded in 2006 in New York City, opened its first Orange County location at The Shops at Mission Viejo mall on Saturday.
The coffee chain counts 38 locations across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Washington D.C., with the newest store marking its entry into west coast markets.
“Southern California has always been alluring – it’s a great market with great people and opportunities but it’s definitely a big jump,” Founder and CEO Gregory Zamfotis told the Business Journal.
“Here, we thought the concept would be well-received,” Zamfotis said of looking into Orange County for the first coffee shop in California. “This will be the first of many, we hope,” he added.
Gregorys Coffee is also the latest coffee chain to partner with Simon Property Group, the owner and management firm of The Shops at Mission Viejo and other shopping centers in the U.S., to open multiple stores in Simon-owned malls.
“Malls are a great way to get established in what are natural traffic drivers and to be alongside the great tenant rosters that are already there” Zamfotis said.
The Shops at Mission Viejo is ranked as the seventh largest shopping center in OC determined by taxable sales of $384 million for 12-months ended June 2023, according to Business Journal research. The mall has 1.15 million square feet of gross leasable space with around 150 open stores.
