About Blend.
Independent Coffee Shop & Wine Bar In Bury St Edmunds

Blend was started by us, Kristina and Michael, two friends with a shared love of good food, great coffee, and creating somewhere that feels genuinely welcoming. Between us, we’ve clocked up years of experience in hospitality, but more importantly, we care about the little things that make a big difference.

Kristina first studied to be a teacher, completing a BA in Primary Education with Modern Foreign Languages before working in hospitality for a while, something that clearly stuck. She then joined the RAF, serving as a paramedic for nine years in high-pressure roles. After that chapter, she became a mum to two wonderful kids and later found her way back to hospitality, working alongside Michael at The Black Lion in Long Melford. In early 2024, she joined Michael again to help open Everyman Cinema in Bury St Edmunds.

Kristina’s got a brilliant eye for detail and is the creative mind behind our look and feel, from the branding to the finishing touches around the space. But she’s just as at home on the machine, bringing great energy, care for people, and a damn good coffee.

Michael has been working in hospitality since he was 15, studying the subject at West Suffolk College while getting stuck in at The Swan in Lavenham and The Angel in Bury St Edmunds. He later moved to London with his now wife and spent nine years at Magdalen, a nose-to-tail restaurant near London Bridge, where his love for food really took off. He learned loads from the talented owners and chefs, especially about cooking simply but properly and running a place with care.

After moving back to Suffolk with his family, he joined Chestnut and ran four pubs with rooms, which is where he and Kristina first worked together. More recently, he helped open Everyman Cinemas in Bury and Cambridge. These days, he’s focused on building somewhere people feel good about walking into, with great food, good drinks, and a relaxed, welcoming feel.
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At Blend, everything we do is shaped by what we’d want from a place ourselves: somewhere you can pop in for a quick flat white, linger over a glass of wine, or just feel looked after, no matter the time of day.

Our friendly team is a big part of what makes Blend, well… Blend. They bring warmth, energy, and genuine care to everything they do, whether it’s making your morning coffee just the way you like it or helping you pick the right glass of wine. In the kitchen, the team keeps us stocked up with homemade toasties, sandwiches, cakes, and our much-loved seeded sausage rolls. Using local ingredients where possible, we make everything from fudgy brownies to bacon-filled croissants, the kind of treats that go perfectly with a flat white or a glass of something chilled.