Where Starbucks zigs, Gregorys Coffee zags.

That's at least been the unofficial strategy for the cafe chain over the last few years. Gregorys, which initially launched in 2006 in New York but has expanded to more than 50 locations throughout the U.S., sits at the intersection of craft coffee and convenience.

It first launched during the early years of the third-wave coffee boom. Gregory's early days "sort of dovetailed with the third wave of coffee, as they called it -- people focusing more on things like latte art, pour-overs, single origin coffees," said Gregory Zomfotis, the company's founder and CEO. "So, as we are seeing all these new and interesting and innovative things happening in the coffee space, I was able to weave them into the operation almost immediately."

Zamfotis joined this week's Modern Retail Podcast and discussed the growth of his chain and the direction of the coffee world in the coming year.