Aussie Hotel owner Paul Tsorbaris, who reopened his business for takeaway on Friday, said he wants to serve dine-in drinks and food as soon as possible.
“I would absolutely love it to happen,” he said.
“We had a case on the weekend, but it’s the first one we’ve had in weeks."
Mr Tsorbaris said if he could reopen, he would "do the right thing" by limiting the number of people allowed indoors, enforcing social distancing, and encouraging the use of hand sanitisers.
Shepparton Chamber of Commerce president John Anderson is also calling for the region to be considered before Melbourne.
He said the region's lower population density, and distance from COVID-19 hot-spots in the city should be taken into account by the Victorian Government.
"We don't have the same public transport, or accommodation high rises (as Melbourne) - we live more distantly than our neighbours," he said.
"And we're far enough from the metro areas to be considered different."
He said businesses and the public could be trusted to maintain adequate social distancing and hygiene.
“People are being sensible about the way they approach it, and it would work as long as businesses observe the correct procedures," he said.
But not everyone believes easing restrictions is the best move.
Fryers St Food Store co-owner Ed Thomas said he would be reluctant for his business to reopen for dine-in because he was concerned he would have to close following another outbreak of cases.
“We do want to open up again, but we’re hesitant about going too hard too early,” he said.
“There’s a bit of an investment to get all the food back in if we were to open up again – it would cost thousands of dollars to go back to what we were doing before COVID-19."
Committee for Greater Shepparton chief executive Sam Birrell said while he was willing for the hospitality sector to reopen, he would follow the advice from authorities first.
“The Premier (Daniel Andrews) and the Chief Health Officer (Brett Sutton) have the expert advice and have to make the call on it," he said.
Greater Shepparton City Council chief executive Peter Harriott encouraged the community to continue adhering to the Victorian Government's social distancing restrictions.
"The Premier indicated that if Victorians continue to adhere to the current COVID-19 restrictions, that come June there may be an increased possibility that restrictions will be eased for the likes of hotels, restaurants and cafes," he said.
Yesterday Mr Andrews announced restaurants and cafes would remain closed for the rest of May, but could continue providing takeaway and delivery.
Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory are allowing restaurants and cafes to have a limited number of seated customers.
But Mr Andrews said he had consulted business owners who believe it would be difficult to manage.
Depending on how Victoria performs in coming weeks, Mr Andrews said restaurants and cafes could be serving dine-in by June.
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