A male swinging a "huge machete" stormed a Rotorua store this morning, yelling at workers to open the till.
The Hub Dairy and Cafe had opened at 5am. The Ngongotahā Rd business is owned by Paris Nom, 21, and her father, Tol Nom, 48.
Paris Nom said her father, uncle and great-uncle were working when the incident unfolded.
Two customers had just left the store when a car carrying three males pulled up outside, between 6am and 7am.
One jumped out and ran towards the shop, leaving the car door open.
"He had his hoodie and gloves on and a huge machete," Nom said.
"He came in ... tripped over ... basically hopped over the counter, full squat ... yelling at us to open the till."
Security camera video of the incident showed the male, who had his lower face covered, jump on the counter then stand and squat beside the till.
Nom said her father knew not to engage – robberies happened "a lot" in the mornings.
"So [the intruder] just stood there. He's swinging this machete around ... tugging at the till."
Tol Nom gestured towards the entrance, signalling for the intruder to leave.
Paris Nom said when the intruder realised the till was not going to be opened, he grabbed a charity donation box and "a bunch of our candies" from the counter.
Tol Nom began chasing after him with "a broom or a chair – anything really that they could get their hands on" as he ran outside.
Paris Nom said the intruder turned back and charged at the window with the machete, as if deciding whether to go back in.
"I guess he wasn't confident enough to break it," Nom said.
He got in the vehicle and it took off.
A witness later told Nom the vehicle appeared to be heading towards Tauranga.
She said the intruder seemed "really young". There was no damage and the incident was over in less than three minutes.
The Noms also own Wheat Sheaf Bakery, across the road.
Robberies happened more often when the store sold cigarettes, Nom said. But the store stopped selling tobacco so that "temptation" was gone.
Today was the first "major" incident like this they had seen in a while.
The store was the only one in Ngongotahā open that early, Nom said.
They had considered stopping early openings because incidents like this were "very scary" and often left them "in shock".
But Nom said they decided to continue to support workers, including truck drivers, who needed somewhere to stop, and they were "more than happy" to do so.
"Most of our income comes from those truckers and supporting them," she said.
Nom said her father worked "really hard".
"My parents are immigrants ... [the store is] his empire ... he's just really determined to run the show."
The store continued operating today.
Nom said her family were all still "sketched out", wondering when the next incident might happen.
The police said they were called at about 6.40am.
The offender threatened employees with a weapon and demanded cash.
The offender fled in a vehicle before the police's arrival. The police later found the vehicle nearby, they said.
They were making inquiries to identify and locate those responsible.
