Carmel and Tony West will be passing the reins of The Turret Cafe to Orchard Cafe Lucas owners LeRoy Hand and Belinda Pilcher.

"There comes a time when you just need to move on I think and adapt and change accordingly," Ms West said.

"It has certainly been an amazing, wonderful journey for me."

Ms West said it was a bittersweet moment to be leaving so many strong relationships behind.

"After being in business for so long, you forge a lot of friendships and loyal customers, but I have reassured them that everything will be perfect and that LeRoy will take great care," she said.

IN THE NEWS:

Ms West has no plans now the business is being handed over but she is eagerly anticipating a few sleep-ins.

"I am looking forward to just slowing down," she said.

"I've worked seven days a week, the alarm clock goes off at five o'clock every morning and I have never regretted a day of it.

"It just comes a time when you have to sort of think, 'should I continue on or should I start to change?'."

Ms West was also pleased to hear her staff will be staying with the business.

"We have long-standing and loyal staff," she said.

"I needed to know that they were going to be looked after."

Ms West wanted to stress that her loyal customers will be in good hands with the new owners.

"Things will change, but things must change," she said.

"He (LeRoy) will do a great job and create a wonderful new space for everybody.

"I have a huge amount of respect for LeRoy, he certainly knows the industry really well.

"It is really exciting to have someone like LeRoy take on the business and I am excited for what the future of The Turret holds."

Mr Hand said it was an honour to be taking over Ms West's life work.

"I am very aware of the current client base, having been a consultant there in the past and designing their menus previously," he said.

Mr Hand stressed they were working on accommodating the current clients as well as welcoming new patrons.

"We are really looking forward to bringing a nice fresh change to the venue," he said.

Throughout his other businesses, including LeRoy Sauce, Taste Ballarat and The Orchard Cafe, Mr Hand has a strong focus on sourcing local products.

"The overwhelming majority comes from not only local suppliers, but actually local farmers," he said.

"We cannot just support local supply, you have really got to make sure you go to the source as well."

Mr Hand said in his experience this was something that customers enjoyed and were receptive to.

READ MORE: Turret Cafe named finalist in small business awards

"We absolutely see the local Ballarat community supporting everyone who supports locals," he said.

"But the reason I truly use those local products is that they are the best.

"I find it so difficult to find the quality that we get right here in Ballarat from anywhere else."

The new owners are looking forward to the new challenges in front of them.

"We cannot wait for Ballarat to get around us and come and see the new Turret."

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.