With no limitations on movement, locals hit the shops for the first time since August 21 to shop as they pleased.

Sharron Keating from Farmhouse Providore and Café was excited to see more faces in her café and people being able to shop at the boutiques Horsham has to offer.

Ms Keating said the regional lockdown lifting was "fabulous".

"There were so many people around town.," she said.

"We were extremely busy, we were run off our feet all day."

As a café, Farmhouse remained open during the lockdown period, but Ms Keating said she noticed a dramatic change post lockdown lift.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"It makes a huge difference," she said.

"People were out shopping and getting coffee and food."

Ms Keating said they saw people from across the Wimmera, including Nhill and Warracknabeal.

"Everyone was so happy to be out and about," she said.

"It was a great vibe around town."

Ms Keating said they struggled to juggle just 10 people at a time for dining in. The main concern was keeping on top of numbers.

"We do get very busy and we were constantly trying to manage the amount of people," she said.

"We don't want to breach the capacity so managing that when you are really busy is a challenge."

Grant Fiedler from the Royal Hotel in Horsham said he wanted to take the opportunity to open even with restrictions. The Royal Hotel opened over the weekend dine-in and takeaway, from Friday, September 10.

"There was a lot of interest in people eating out, which was good," he said.

"Even though only 10 people at a time restricted things."

Mr Fiedler said he saw many people travelling from regional areas, keen to get out and support businesses.

"It was difficult to manage the numbers with the restrictions," he said.

"We need to allow greater numbers.

"If you can open, and we're allowed to open, it's good because it gives people a place to go but it's difficult to cover costs with only allowed limited persons."

Mr Fiedler said he was grateful for the support from the community.

"People were very appreciative," he said.

"Thank you for the continued support of the community for the hotel in these times. I'm very appreciative.

"I know they are doing it to help support us."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: