The first Gregory's Coffee opened in 2006 on Manhattan's Park Avenue. Nineteen years later, the family-owned business has expanded to over 54 locations around the U.S. as well as a roastery in Queens, New York, that handles coffee beans from Brazil, Rwanda, Nicaragua and other major global producers.

For Gregory Zamfotis, founder of the New York City-based chain, the business is about more than just dollars and cents — it's also about recognizing the special place coffee has long had in American culture as a driver of social connections.

"Coffee is built into the fabric of our society," Zamfotis told CBS News. "People come together over coffee. When it's a meeting or interview, or we just want to get some work done, coffee tends to be the centerpiece of those conversations."

With many A

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