Koroit gift shop The Local Place is closing down by the end of May

Having opened in late 2017, the store offers food, craftware, jewellery, art and children's clothing from sustainable sources.

The Local Place houses products from more than 50 suppliers.

Owner Renee Lane said she was closing the store for a better work-life balance.

"It's six days a week in the shop and then there's also all of the time you spend out of hours doing bookwork or social media," she said.

"It's quite all-consuming when you run your own business. My kids are growing up a bit too fast and I just want to be able to slow down and spend more time with them."

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Ms Lane said some of the products would still be available in Koroit after The Local Place had closed.

"We have quite a lot of local foods including Schulz milks and Symons' cheese," she said. "So that's going across the road to Beany's butcher which is really exciting because it means all those products will still be available in the town."

While the business is set to close by the end of May, Ms Lane said it could be earlier.

"I hope to stay open until then but it would just depend on the stock levels," she said.

"There's no point keeping the doors open when there's nothing in the shop to sell."

Ms Lane will be leasing the building but wants another local business in the space.

"While I own it, it will always be a retail shop for the community because that's what Koroit needs," she said.

"We need a few more shops in the town just to bring people out and give them a reason to stay."

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