The growing confidence in the Koroit business sector continues to surge with another long dormant shopfront on the town's main street coming alive.
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Deta Hair & Beauty has opened for business at 130 Commercial Road, the first time the address has been home to a live business for 15 years.
The last business to operate at the location was the Koroit Milkbar, under the ownership of current Commercial Hotel proprietors Darren and Julie Smith.
The Smith family sold the property in May 2006 to private investors who used the building as a residence.
The building had served as a milkbar for more than 70 years.
A major part of that timeline was filled by Pat and Rene Sharkey, who operated a milkbar at the site for half a century.
When the Sharkey family retired in 1985, they sold the business to Larry and Sue Scott.
Subsequent owners from that time to 2006 included Barry and Trish Brody, Bill and Lorraine Dunne, Michael and Robyn Brooks and Darren and Julie Smith.
Deta Hair & Beauty owner Kyra Crow said she had received a lot of positive feedback that the building was being used as a businesses again.
"A lady came in the other day just to thank us for putting the building to use again, which was really nice," Ms Crow said.
"A lot of our customers who have lived in Koroit for a long time have been reminiscing about when it was a milkbar.
"It's great to have that history and for people to have that connection and to have the chance to come in here for business again."
Deta Hair & Beauty has a staff of five hairdressers, one beauty therapist and a cosmetic nurse from Melbourne who rents a space in the building.
The business is also a registered safe place for victims of domestic or family violence.
For the past nine years, Ms Crow had operated Deta Hair & Beauty out of 102 Commercial Road, across the way from Micky Bourke's Koroit Hotel.
But the expansion of the business brought about the location change.
"It was really about getting more space," Ms Crow said.
"We loved it on the corner but we have added four more hairdressers since we started.
"The opportunity came up to move into the old milkbar, which has been so well renovated, so we thought it was the perfect fit and took it up."
But the space at 102 Commercail Road has not stayed empty for long, with Moyne Health Services (MHS) taking on a lease for the building.
MHS expect to be open for business by mid-September.
The range of services will include physiotherapy, speech therapy, diabetes, dietetics, occupational therapy, district nursing, home care packages and podiatry.
