The owner of East St Superette chased two people towards Wairere Drive.

Pie thieves pulled a knife each and threatened a Hamilton dairy owner as he attempted to chase them down on Sunday morning.

A 14-year-old girl and 23-year-old man from Hamilton have been arrested following the theft of two pies from the East St Superette on Sunday morning.

About 10am the girl ran into the dairy and swiped two pies from the warmer. It's not known if they were mince and cheese or steak and cheese. She fled, joining the 23-year-old man outside.

The dairy owner, who doesn't want to be named, said he ran after them barefoot, chasing them down East Street towards Wairere Drive.

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He said he chased them for about 100 metres and was about to let them go, when they both threatened him with knives.

"I won't let you go now, I won't let you go," he told them.

At which point the girl tried to punch him with a knife still in her hand, he said.

The owner described the knife the girl was holding as a sharp, fold-out knife with a six-inch blade, and the man's knife as a stationery craft knife.

He said he is not frightened by the incident, but his wife is still coming to grips with it all.

Police were called by a passer-by, who saw the owner running after the pair.

Waikato Police Senior Sergeant Robbie Hermann said nobody was injured and the owner can be comforted by knowing the thieves have been arrested.

"We happened to get there in reasonably quick time and found them."

The girl and man were arrested on nearby Tramway Rd and were now spending their Sunday afternoon in the police cells at Hamilton Central station.

It was likely the 14 year old charged with theft would be released while the 23 year old would remain in custody to appear in court on Monday charged with aggravated assault.

As for the pies, Hermann said their fate was unknown.

"I can't imagine they got eaten while they were trying to flee."

The East Street dairy has been targeted by robbers before.

The owner said in the five years he has owned the dairy, it has been stolen from too many times to keep count.

In July last year, three men were jailed for robbing the dairy of $1900 worth of cigarettes and $200 cash. They were armed with a knife, hammer and tent peg.

The owner is now taking necessary security precautions - including a baseball bat behind the counter, to try and prevent more thefts from occurring.