The changing face of Horsham's Firebrace Street in 2019 | Photos, video

That's exactly what he, and several other businesses, have done in 2019.

Mr Van Dyk is preparing to relocate his business, which has operated out of Pynsent Street for the past 40 years.

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Mr Van Dyk purchased the shopfront on 50 Firebrace Street, formerly Freijah Menswear, in early October. He said he had been looking for a new location for a number of years.

"There was a certain criteria we needed for the building to satisfy what we do, and this basically ticks those boxes," he said.

"For us we do a lot of food processing as well. (The building) will create a good workflow for that.

"Firebrace Street has some very good activity. The main street... creates a little hub with a lot of foot traffic. When visitors come to the town there is always that mindset to go to the centre of town, and it just creates that other exposure."

Mr Van Dyk said he expected to open in early January. His investment will mean the building comes full circle: It served as Wright and Riley's butcher shop before housing Freijah Menswear.

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Horsham Telstra store owner Gary Howden also saw the chance to grow on Firebrace Street. He is several weeks in to relocating his business two doors down to a smaller premises.

Mr Howden, who came to Horsham in 1978, said he could incorporate business and consumer products within the same site by moving.

"The building we were in is too big so we downsized in what we needed," he said. "We split the administration with Warrnambool so we didn't need the same space we did previously. The vacant site was beckoning for a bit of love and it's a been a positive move so far.

"Rent's expensive for a Mum and Dad business, so I think it would be a multinational that would take on (the old store)."

Mr Howden, who has worked at premises on Sloss and Wilson Streets over his career, remembered the beautification of Firebrace Street in the early 2000s during which powerlines were removed and footpaths redone.

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"There was a little bit of pain, but (it was) well worth it. Warrnambool's just gone through that same program," he said.

"(The main street) still is the hub. We had a choice of going to Horsham Plaza or staying in Firebrace, and I think Firebrace is vibrant enough. Regional towns, if they can hang on to their main street, I think that's the life of the town.

"Having the likes of Harvey Norman on Firebrace Street was a brilliant move - that will keep Horsham in a very good state. There are still opportunities in Horsham I think to grow, and I think the pubs are slowly changing into what they should be."

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Women's clothing retailer Black Pepper opened a store next to Telstra's new premises in October.

In that same month, a Horsham investor bought the former site of Hip Pocket workwear at 34 Firebrace Street. A new tenant also took up the lease of the site, settling on December 19.

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