Lilly's Ballarat opened its doors on Mair Street just over a week ago as the passion project of chef Catherine Gill.

Mrs Gill said she only had the idea to open the business in February while she was on maternity leave.

"I was a head chef on maternity leave," she said.

"I was due to come back from maternity leave some time in April... It was then I decided I wanted to open my own business and work for myself so I could have a bit more flexibility to be with my family."

Currently serving hot drinks and delicious lollies and chocolate, Mrs Gill said the business has received a warm welcome from the community since opening.

"We've had such positive feedback from everyone, they've made us feel very welcome. We're excited to keep growing as things slowly return to normal," she said.

Looking back at all the work that went into opening the business, Mrs Gill added her belief the virus didn't slow them down and that they were too busy to worry about the pandemic.

"It really didn't even enter my mind," she laughed.

"We decided we were going to open up our own business and just really went for it. The virus hasn't held us back in what we wanted to do."

Moving forward, Mrs Gill said the cafe will aim to cater for sit-down breakfast and lunch customers as things begin to return to normal.

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