Staff member assaulted during Bottle-O robbery in Tauranga

A Tauranga liquor store owner has described an incident where one of his staff members was assaulted as the "worst he had seen in 13 years of owning liquor stores".

The staff member was left shaken after being assaulted during the robbery at the Fraser Cove Shopping Centre Bottle-O in Tauranga last night.

A police media spokeswoman said the incident was reported about 9.30pm. A person entered a store, assaulted a staff member and left with cigarettes and other items, she said.

In CCTV footage of the altercation, one of the men is heard saying "Come on brother. My car's going to get caught on the camera".

The offender said: "I'm sorry ... but I have to."

Fraser Cove Shopping Centre Bottle-O owner Charanjit Dhillon said the incident was the worst he had seen in his 13 years owning liquor stores.

Dhillon said the offender became aggressive after being told he was too intoxicated to buy alcohol.

The staff member was left shaken after being assaulted during the robbery at the Fraser Cove Shopping Centre Bottle-O in Tauranga last night. Photo / Supplied

"Two men came and one of them was drunk, he had an open can of bourbon in his hand that he was drinking and he was over the limit," he said.

"My staff member said 'sorry, you've had a little bit too much, I cannot serve you'. Then he started getting aggressive and punching my staff member who then backed off."

Dhillon said his staff were trained to back off in these situations for their own safety.

"He then went behind the counter and picked up a few cigarettes. His other mate came in saying 'get away from the cameras'. Then they left in a car.

"My staff member is okay but he is scared. Not many times these things happen, sometimes underage kids or some idiots come but they just grab and run.

"Last night, what happened, that's not on. I've been in this industry 13 years and it's never happened like that, I've never seen that bad before."

He said the offender "should not be allowed on the road".

"How the hell can he come to the shop and assault someone working hard like that?"

The staff member did not need ambulance help.

No arrests have been made at this stage and inquiries are ongoing.