Almost any day of the week, the Mallacoota Newsagency has a constant traffic of locals buying their papers, flicking through favourite magazines, trying their luck on the lotto and kids delighting over random $1 trinkets.
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Saturday seems to be the most popular day, when mid-morning you'll find almost every breed of scruffy dog tied up out the front, pushies leaned up against windows plastered with the latest royal headlines and locals spilling out of the door smiling from ear to ear, armed with their weekend read.
Despite being a much loved part of the Mallacoota community, the newsagency is preparing to close its doors for the last time this weekend.
A decision business owners Michael and Rita Pearce say was a lot easier said than done.
Michael, 71, said in preparation for retirement they put the business on the market quite a few years ago, hoping somebody would take it on with just as much zest and gusto as he and Rita had done 16 years prior.
However, the business failed to entice a buyer and with minor health problems niggling and news print production declining and the constant need to 'diversify' - they feel like the closure is timely.
"It feels like the right time. We're ready to retire and the way the industry is going it's just getting harder and harder to stay viable," he said.
Ben Kearney CEO of the Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association (ALNA) said despite newsagents being resilient to change over the last 10 years, the need for newsagents to diversify is crucial for their survival, especially in regional towns.
"Many businesses of yesteryear are dying or gone - but newsagents continue to resiliently change,"Mr Kearney said.
"There is no doubt that changes in retail and the products that newsagents have traditionally sold, are an ongoing challenge for newsagents.
"For newsagents to survive in regional areas, they need to update their business model to satisfy what their local community and visitors to those areas are looking for and want," Mr Kearney said.
However, despite the Mallacoota Newsagency diversifying over many years, Michael said adding more souvenirs and gift stock to the shelves meant competing with other small businesses in the town, like the post office and gift shops, and that just didn't seem fair.
"It's how it is now - we're a small town, everyone deserves their piece of the pie," Michael said.
Since the the news of the popular newsagent's upcoming closure this Saturday, many locals have expressed their sadness at losing a treasured part of the town.
"What will I do with out you?" An elderly resident was heard saying last weekend standing in the usually long queue waiting to buy her paper.
And another commented : "Where will I buy my TV Week?"
An older man checking his lotto numbers mentioned he will miss putting on his numbers in person.
"I don't have the internet," he said. "Let alone know how to put me Tatts on."
All the while a couple of locals were catching up over the magazine stand.
"It's not just about newspapers," Michael said.
"For many it's a social stop, they come in have a chat, share a joke and move on with their day."
