The owner of a Northland bakery was seriously injured after he was attacked outside his Kaiwaka business.
The man was a victim of a serious assault outside La Nonna's Italian Bakery on State Highway 1, Kaiwaka, at about 7.45am on Saturday.
Police said initially the man was believed to have sustained "serious facial injuries and possibly a fractured skull".
He was airlifted to Whangarei Hospital where he was in a stable condition yesterday.
Sergeant Shane Turner said police were looking for two people in relation to the incident.
"Two part-Maori males in their 40s, were known to the victim," he said.
A bakery worker called police but by the time officers arrived the two men had fled the scene in a silver Honda.
The Northern Advocate contacted La Nonna's Italian Bakery in Kaiwaka but no one could comment.