'With no Anne, there's no Somerset': Beloved restaurant's grief-stricken end

PremiumHome / Bay of Plenty TimesKaitlyn MorrellMultimedia journalist ·Bay of Plenty Times·26 Jun, 2026 06:01 PM5 mins to read‌Anne Butcher and Rick Lowe opened Somerset Cottage on July 4 1986.For 40 years Anne Butcher welcomed generations of diners through the doors of Somerset Cottage.The Tauranga restaurant closed after Anne’s sudden death from a ruptured aorta in May, ending a chapter her family says was built on “consistency and quality”.

Her husband, chef and Somerset Cottage co-owner Rick Lowe

AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.