Nanaimo grocery store robbed at knifepoint, suspect at large

A Nanaimo RCMP vehicle is shown. (CTV News)

An armed robber remains at large after a small grocery in Nanaimo, B.C., was held up at knifepoint.

Mounties say the robbery happened at 5:40 p.m. Thursday, when a masked man walked into the Superette Foods at 687 Albert St. and brandished a knife.

The man demanded the clerk hand over money from the till before he fled on foot with an unspecified amount of cash.

The Nanaimo RCMP say the suspect was last seen running towards Nicol Street.

Patrol officers arrived within minutes but were unable to find the perpetrator, police said in a release Friday.

Investigators reviewed surveillance video showing the suspect without a mask on prior to entering the store.

Police are now looking for a white man in his mid-30s, standing approximately 5'10" tall and weighing 175 pounds. He is described as having heavy stubble and was wearing a dark hoodie and gloves.

Superette Foods said in a post on its Facebook page that no staff were physically harmed during the robbery.

"We are closed for the night," the business said Thursday. "We have been robbed yet again. Will post updates as they become available. Thank you and we apologize for any inconvenience."

Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345.