Two men hiding behind face coverings entered the Fitzmaurice Street Caltex service station around 4am, brandishing knives and threatening both a customer and the shop attendant.

Police said the thieves stole a small sum of cash in the brazen robbery before fleeing the scene in a vehicle, described as a Holden sedan.

The 37-year-old female customer and the 69-year-old man on duty at the service station were physically uninjured in the ordeal, but Riverina Police District Inspector Peter McLay said the incident left them shaken.

"The two people inside the store were threatened, and to see the two offenders with their faces covered and forcing their way into the store would have been frightening, so naturally they are quite shaken," he said.

The two armed men are still on the loose as police investigate both the robbery and a car fire discovered soon after the Fitzmaurice Street incident.

In other news

A car was found on fire in Ashmont's Webb Park not long after the service station was targeted by the fleeing crooks, and Inspector McLay said they believed the two were connected.

A crime scene was established at the service station and police are working to determine if the two incidents are linked.

Inspector McLay said the city's drug culture played a role in the ongoing crime across Wagga and the Riverina.

"There's no doubt that drugs play a factor in a lot of our crimes, and we're no different to a lot of regional areas in that respect," he said.

"We have that impact of ice and other drugs in the community and we're working very hard to try and eliminate that.

"Police are aware that service stations, particularly those operating 24/7, can be quite vulnerable and we do work with those businesses to try and deter these kinds of incidents as best we can, but unfortunately, especially with the drug problem, it is not always possible."

Anyone with information about the robbery or the car fire is urged to come forward. They can contact Wagga police at the station by calling 6922 2599 or through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or the online reporting page.