Alisa Lim and her husband Jehn have been in charge of Bath Lane's Bendigo Centre Newsagency for just over a week now.

The sale went through during Victoria's second lockdown as health authorities struggled to bring multiple outbreaks across Melbourne and the wider state under control.

The Lims were watching everything happen from Western Australia.

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"Everyone outside of Victoria was saying 'stay away from there' and we were driving towards it," Mrs Lim said.

"We were going through the papers to buy this place and praying things would open back up."

Like a miracle, the state began reopening as the couple and their family arrived in central Victoria. The nearby Bendigo Bank has allowed some of its workers back and more people are dropping in as they shop for Christmas presents.

The Lims moved from Western Australia to be close to family, including their children's grandparents.

"We were lucky we had family here. We bought the business and our new house site unseen, so they came in and helped when we were considering buying them," Mrs Lim said.

The couple had considered a number of other businesses around Bendigo including a motel but decided owning a small store would give them a little more flexibility.

"One of my children is starting school next year so we felt like this was the kind of store that you could have one, or one-and-a-half people working a day if needed to juggle family life," Mrs Lim said.

Ultimately, though, buying the newsagency was about having something they could call their own after years of working for other people, she said.

The Lims wanted to thank Bendigo's residents for being so welcoming as they navigated their way through owning a business and living in a new town.

"Everyone has just been so helpful and generous," Mrs Lim said.

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