The Coffee House

Born in November 2010 Lucy Newell & Jessica Darnell opened the doors to their very first Coffee House in Moreton Hall on the outskirts of the beautiful Suffolk town of Bury St. Edmunds.

“It was right at the heart of the recession and many people, who still love to tell us now, doubted that we could make a success of opening a business at such a bad time.”

But with such passion and determination and strong beliefs in customer service and customer loyalty, the two local girls thought it a no brainer.

Having both worked for various high street coffee and restaurant chains, Lucy & Jessica took what they had learnt and ran with it, injecting as much personality and love as they could.

With Lucy’s graphic design background and a real joy for baking that had been passed down by generations and with Jessica’s management skills, nose for a good flavour and ear for great music, they borrowed as much money as they could from their parents, which wasn’t a lot, and pursued their dream of owning their very own Coffee House.

“Our vision was and still is to provide a warm, inviting environment where you feel at home and nothing is a problem. Where you can sit back with friends, listen to some great music whilst drinking the best coffee and eating the best and most delicious food cooked by us. We don’t have a chef, we don’t have a pot wash, a cashier or a barista, we are as a team all of those things and we love it. It’s hard work, but we love it!”

Sadly, before opening The Coffee House, Jessica’s father died of cancer and in his final weeks was cared for by the team at St. Nicholas Hospice.

“It was then that we decided to give something back for the enormous love and kindness that the hospice gave so willingly.”

Donating a penny for every coffee sold, over the life of the business, has so far raised over £20,000 in just six years. But this is not purely through coffee sales. The Coffee House teams take part in various fundraisers for the hospice and their communities.

“We firmly believe in supporting local, shopping locally and eating and drinking locally too. Your community is where it’s at so look after it and it will hopefully do the same for you. Therefore, it is incredibly important for us to make something amazing for you the customer, for, without you, our dreams wouldn’t have been made possible”. “We have made some wonderful friends through this journey and it’s only just the beginning, how exciting is that.”

So if you haven’t been to one of our Coffee Houses for a sausage roll and a friendly chat, then what on earth are you waiting for? See you soon.