Estiator Magazine – Greek From Greece raises the bar

The Greek-sourced bakery-café franchise sets its sights on a national footprint.

Article By Maria Benardis, Estiator Magazine, April 2020

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THE MARKET HAS BEEN FLOODED with fast-casual concepts over the course of the past five or ten years. Many adopt the Chipotle model, allowing guests to build their pita wraps or bowls as they pass along a line of ingredients, and others, a more traditional order model. One thing is constant, however: Most are successful. Greek From Greece bakery-café (better known by the acronym “GFG”) combines both the Chipotle and traditional order model. GFG is a success story that has occurred  almost overnight through hard work, sheer determination, and having a true pioneer and visionary at the helm.

What makes this bakery-café special is that it serves up authentic sweet and savory fare from ingredients sourced directly from Greece. Their food is quick to serve and price-accessible. It is one of the fastest-growing Greek bakery-cafés in the United States, with eight locations in Manhattan, New Jersey, and Florida. The ambitious management team recently announced that they are aiming to open 50 locations within the next 18 months.

Georgios Drosos, the founder and CEO of GFG, opened the first store in 2017 to long lines and delighted customers in Hoboken, New Jersey. It has an appealing European café vibe, with people always buzzing in and out throughout the day. It’s
relaxing, homey, and relatively quiet—the perfect place to connect for conversation; a place where you can always find simple, high-quality Greek food with a homemade taste like Mom used to make. It’s a spot that transports visitors to Greece without
leaving the country.

GFG has a powerhouse of talent running the company. Drosos, from Epirus, is an award-winning franchisee, with more than 100 franchise locations throughout Greece, as well as in the United States, France, Austria, Romania, and Russia. Those concepts encompass various industries—bakeries, cafés, frozen-yogurt shops, and furniture stores among them. With GFG he combines his business expertise with his passion for Greek food.

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June 3, 2020