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Regional general store owners say they are unsure if a new generation will want to take on the businesses as they struggle with increasing costs and competition.
After moving from the United States, George Copelin was convinced by his Australian wife Rosie to buy the disused general store in the small forestry town of Mount Burr, in South Australia's south-east, in September 2018.
Mr Copelin's unique American menu made the store well-known and helped guide it through the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Mrs Copelin said economic challenges in the wake of the pandemic were making it harder to do business.
George and Rosie Copelin bought the Mount Burr General Store in 2018. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
Delivery services offered by supermarkets and restaurants in larger towns are also taking their toll.
"The freight and the price of petrol doubles or triples the cost of everything," Mrs Copelin said.
"Inflation has been horrendous and people just haven't had the money to spend.
"We used to sell a lot of groceries — we don't seem to do that as much anymore.
"Having those home delivery services that we can't compete with hasn't been very easy either."
Lifestyle, not a job
About 70km south at Allendale East, John Lindquist is the long-time owner of a general store.
"I've been introduced to people from all over the world and all over Australia," he said.
"Everybody you could just as well imagine has come by here."
John Lindquist is the long-time owner of the Allendale East General Store. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)
While he said running the store can be financially "challenging", he does not focus on the negatives.
"You treat this place as a lifestyle, not a job," he said.
"If you treat it as a job, you won't last long.
"You've got to work smart, not hard. If you end up working hard you're going to wear yourself out too quick."
A struggle to compete
SA Business Chamber chief executive Andrew Kay said it was getting harder for regional businesses to survive.
"When we're going through a cost of living crisis, and every region's experiencing that across the state, people are looking for value for money," he said.
"[General stores] simply can't compete with the prices that are on offer because of the buying power these larger players have."
Andrew Kay says it is a challenging time for small businesses. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
Mr Kay said rising costs of wages, energy, insurance, and other inputs were impacting businesses.
"I think we have a bit of a perfect storm here where we're experiencing a slowdown in the economy at the same time we're experiencing inflationary pressures on all the costs," he said.
While the Copelins enjoy working for themselves and meeting new customers, Mr Copelin admits the hours can be wearisome.
"The staff here they get three or four days off a week, but we're here [all the time]," he said.
"Because of where we are we don't have a lot of people to choose from."
The couple has listed the business for sale but believes they will keep the store in the end.
"[It's] just the inconsistency and the unknown all the time in the store that makes it quite difficult," Mrs Copelin said.
"And George and I are old — we're getting old."
The Mount Burr store is one of very few businesses in the small timber town. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
Mrs Copelin said she was not sure what the future would hold for general stores.
"I think it's a unique piece of Australian history, in a way, to have these old corner stores and it would be a real shame to see them go," she said.
Need for innovation
Mr Kay said future general store owners would need to innovate.
"Competition isn't necessarily always a bad thing if it can help a business innovate and create," he said.
"Convenience is something some of the bigger stores offer, but what they don't offer is that personal touch."
The Copelins' American menu has helped maintain interest. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
He said any government investment into the regions would provide an "exceptionally good return on the investment" and highlighted the need for more help to train regional workers.
"If some of those training sessions could be taken through the regions or online so that regional workers have access to them, that is something that we think the government can assist with as well," he said.