Detective Sergeant Regan Boucher said police arrested a 56-year-old man in connection with the attempted robbery of the Dundas Corner Dairy.
The man is set to appear in the Dunedin District Court on Friday next week facing a charge of assault with intent to rob.
The man was arrested following the execution of a search warrant in North Dunedin and police recovered items thought to be connected to the robbery, including a knife, Det Sgt Boucher said.
Police took such crime seriously and have acted swiftly to hold the alleged offender to account, he said.
"Being a victim or even a witness to these serious crimes is extremely traumatic and they also have an impact on the wider community."
"We want everyone to be safe and feel safe.
"Everyone – including small business owners – deserves to go about their daily lives without being targeted.
"Today’s arrest is an excellent result and Police would like to thank the public for their assistance.
After the incident there was a heavy police presence at the dairy, on the corner of Dundas and Cumberland Sts, for the rest of the afternoon.
A woman who spoke to the "very shaken" person working at the dairy after the incident said a masked man had entered the store and tried to rob it before fleeing on foot.
A police spokeswoman said no-one was harmed in the incident.
Three people were arrested last week after a police raid in Ocean Grove in relation to three aggravated robberies since June, targeting dairies in Musselburgh, St Kilda and Maryhill.
All three robberies were carried out by a masked man and woman.
The man allegedly carried a pistol during the attacks.
The robberies were the latest in an ongoing series of dairy-related crime in Dunedin.
