A police taskforce targeting the illicit tobacco trade is investigating a fire that destroyed a shop in the Victorian town of Rochester.

A vehicle reversed into the shopfront on Mackay Street at about 5:20am on Thursday and two men allegedly lit a fire inside before driving away.

No-one was injured but the store was gutted and the barber shop next door was significantly damaged.

“It’s devastating for the business owners and operators,” Justin Kyne said.

He owns the property the barber shop is in, which his stepson Matthew McMillan runs.

The 32-year-old lives at the back of the store but was on holiday in Thailand this week.

He has cut his trip short and many of his possessions have been ruined.

“[The arsonists] don’t see the devastation,” Mr Kyne said.

“The fact we’ve come through the floods twice, rebuilt the business twice, got the business going and now we’ve got this.

‘Fivefold on the flood devastation’

Mr Kyne said it would be harder to repair the store than when the town flooded in October 2022.

“The fire damage, smoke damage, and now the water has flooded the shop — it’s fivefold on the flood devastation,” he said.

Taskforce Lunar will assist with the police investigation into the fire.

Former Campaspe Shire Council Mayor Leigh Wilson said the arson attack was a bitter blow.

“Like a lot of businesses we are struggling with a bit of a downturn in spending, but the positive of heading into the Christmas season was looking not too bad for our retail area in the CBD,” he said.

“That’s quite a kick in the guts to our business sector.”

Rochester local John Pappin said it was the worst thing residents had seen since the 2022 floods.

“It’s crazy, you know?” he said.