In the next two months, an F45 training studio will likely open, and a tool store will undergo a rebrand.

Both are looking to hire more workers later this year.

Leigh Brady, owner and coach at the F45 studio at 97 Wilson Street, said he hoped the store would be open by November.

"We were supposed to be opening in October, but that has been pushed back due to restrictions," he said. "If there are any more hold-ups out of our control, then we will be opening in early December.

"What stopped us from opening next month was delays in travelling to Horsham and get the planning permits done. We also have to try and find full-time coaches over there.

"We are hoping to employ four to five coaches, including myself, my business partner, a full-time coach, a full-time manager/coach, a permanent part-time person and some casual staff as well."

In the third step of restrictions easing, which is current in regional Victoria, gym staff can only attend work if permitted, and patron numbers are limited. They can open with physical distancing in the last step, which is due to be implemented on November 23.

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"The building suited us best compared to all the other ones available, and we have opened up F45's in Ballarat and Bendigo in the past four years," he said, explaining how he settled on the location.

"We had a fantastic response to those. We had opportunities to open a few studios around Melbourne CBD, but being from a small community (Swan Hill), where there is heaps of sport, I thought it would be a fantastic thing to bring to Horsham."

F45 means "functional" instructed workouts that last for 45 minutes each time. Mr Brady said there were 3000 different exercises that could form any given workout.

A few blocks over, Breuer's United owner Stuart Hobbs is preparing to become a franchise of Total Tools Horsham.

"We are expanding both the showroom and our staff capacity to accommodate that, and we are looking forward to bringing a bigger and better offering to the community from the end of October," he said.

"We will need three extra staff at this point until we need more. As Breuers, we are excited we can employ more people when there is certainly a bit of doom and gloom around."

Mr Hobbs said the store's signage would change and the amount of floor space and stock would double as part of the changeover.

"This has been in the pipeline for probably ten months," he said. "The pandemic certainly put us back a couple of months, to do with how people work and the people we need to speak to about all the things that need to happen.

"To do the expansions, we've tried to hire all local, so that we don't have to worry about (the logistics of) getting people from Melbourne out to do things."

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One block south, Beer Wine Spirits has confirmed it will replace the Cellarbrations store near the corner of Hamilton and Darlot Streets. In a statement, a spokesman said it would open a store on October 9.

"We have acquired a fantastic site, where we can provide a greater drinks range to the people of Horsham, including a wonderful selection of locally made beers, wines and spirits from the Greater Western Victoria region, including the Pyrenees and Grampians," he said.

"It's really central, which means it will be a convenient location for locals."

There is already a BWS outlet inside Wilson Street's Woolworths, which owns the business through its subsidiary Endeavour Group Limited.

In July, Beer Scotch Wine Pty Ltd applied to relocate the current Cellarbrations store to the former Clark Rubber retail outlet on the corner of Wilson and Urquhart Street.

Horsham Cellarbrations owner Mukesh Bhutani told the Mail-Times he was not relocating, and had sold his business to Woolworths.

Liquor licensing consultant Stephen Jerman said the brand name was relocating. "We are hoping planning permission will be received (from Horsham Rural City Council) fairly soon," he said.

"The liquor licence has been issued. It will be a bigger store with more employees, and all the sponsorships will still be operating."

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