Two staff members at a Wellington restaurant are traumatised after two men threatened them with a knife and bat in an aggravated robbery.
Wellington police are seeking the public's help to identify the two men after the robbery on August 6 in the Wellington suburb of Strathmore.
Strathmore Local General Manager Jean Sara joined AM on Tuesday and said her staff are "pretty traumatised by the whole event".
Sara told AM's Ryan Bridge her staff closed and locked the doors to the restaurant at about 9pm on the evening of August 6.
"They were closing down the bar about 15 minutes after we locked up. The men, two men, jumped over our back fence and managed to make their way through one of our back areas."
A police spokesperson said the men drove up and walked into the Strathmore Local on Strathmore Ave at around 9:15pm on August 6.
"Police understand the two men were in the area for about an hour prior to the incident and had their vehicle parked near the north end of Glamis Avenue."
Sara said the men appeared to know exactly what they were doing, going behind the bar and grabbing both of her staff.
"[They] dragged them into our office and made my manager open the safe where we held our cash on hand. They were in and out within about two minutes," she said.
"It all happened very quickly. They pretty much walked out the way they came in."
Sara told AM her staff were left on the ground and waited until it was safe to hit a panic alarm and call the police.
"The larger man in the green was holding a knife and the man in the grey hoody was using a baseball bat to threaten the staff to get them into the office."
She said her staff found it "surreal" to have the men wielding a knife and baseball bat threatening them.
"It wasn't until they were lying on the ground that it became pretty real for them. They are very traumatised."
She now wants the two alleged offenders found and held accountable.
Police say the man wearing the green hoodie is believed to have a large tattoo on his back that extends to his lower back area and has a large stomach.
Police are asking anyone who recognises the men or the bat to get in touch.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Constable Jocelyn Bell on 021 190 9729.
Watch the video above for more.
