Former Melbourne residents Jonny Driver and Sarah Currie are preparing to mark one year of living in Ballarat by opening a new business.

The couple is putting the finishing touches on new Sturt Street offering Midtown Cellars and Bar, a craft beer and wine store and bar.

It is a show of their love for Ballarat, plans to stay long-term and contribute to the city's growing hospitality experiences and celebration of local produce.

"We saw room for this business," Mr Driver said.

"We thought there were a lot of great wine bars and country pubs, but nothing in between.

"We wanted to create a bottle shop that stocks what people can't find in the big chain store, with an atmosphere to drink and we want to be open all the time.

"We created the place we wanted to go to."

Mr Driver and Ms Currie had been living in Footscray and had plans to move to Mexico before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

COVID-19 hit and they were ready for a change, so after exploring towns about an hour away from Melbourne, Ballarat was the top pick.

"We loved the look for starters, with the big old buildings and wide streets," Mr Driver was said.

"Everything was close, the traffic was manageable, it was just so un-Melbourne but at the same time there was a lot here to do and to access.

"We thought we would chill here for a couple of years but it really struck us and now we are opening businesses and staying, it is great."

Ms Currie continued running her bookkeeping and accounting business with Melbourne clients after moving to Ballarat in September last year.

Mr Driver, a musician, was playing and writing music, but all work stopped when COVID-19 hit and he decided he needed to find other work.

"It was a bit of a shock to the system but in the end I am pretty glad it forced me to do it because I feel like I am on the right path now," he said.

"I will go back to music when I am allowed to but in the meantime, I will focus on this."

Mr Driver has worked in liquor retail and in bars in the past.

The idea for Midtown Cellars and Bar originated and the Ballarat Beer Festival when conversations with sellers revealing a desire for more places in Ballarat to stock their craft beer products.

Physical work on the Sturt Street site has been underway for about three months.

Mr Driver said local wine, beer and food was a focus.

He said he was not put off launching into business despite the coronavirus pandemic.

"It would be great to open at full capacity with the hospitality side, but I think everyone is going to come out on the other side and be more appreciative of what they had and will want to support small local businesses," Mr Driver said.

"The wineries in the region are suffering just as much as everyone else and they are really keen to see something new like this open up... it has been a very positive experience."

"We are excited to offer Ballarat something new at a time when we are all kind of stuck here," Ms Currie said.

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Originally moving to Ballarat with a view to stay for a few years, Mr Driver and Ms Currie said what made them want to stay was the people and a sense of 'something good is going to happen here'.

"There is a lot of potential, a lot of people have got these positive vibes, you can see it has got the mixture of the old country town but a lot of young fresh energy. I have this feeling it is going to become an even better city than it is," Mr Driver said.

"People are all really nice. It is the opposite experience to Melbourne. We had lived here for two weeks and had to go away and our neighbours fed our cat for us.

"We lived in Melbourne in the same place for seven years and we didn't even know our neighbours."

Midtown Cellars and Bar will open for the first time on September 15 at 405 Sturt Street.

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