Sheetz


Sheetz, Inc. is an American chain of convenience stores and coffee shops owned by the Sheetz family. The stores sell a mix of custom food, beverages and convenience store items. Nearly all of them sell gasoline. Its headquarters are in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Stores are located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina.
A few locations are full-scale truck stops, including showers and a laundromat.

History

1950s–1980s

Sheetz, Inc was founded by G. Robert "Bob" Sheetz in 1952 when he purchased one of his father's five dairy stores located in Altoona. In 1961, Bob hired his brother Steve to work part-time.
In 1963 the second store was opened under the name "Sheetz Kwik Shopper." A third store followed in 1968. In 1969, Steve became general manager. The brothers planned to expand at the rate of one store per year with a target of seven stores by 1972. In 1972, the company expanded from seven to fourteen stores. One year later, Sheetz began selling gasoline, and opened the first self-serve gas pumps in central Pennsylvania.
By 1983, Bob and Steve had opened 100 stores. In 1981 Bob retired and Steve became president.

1990s

In 1995, Stanton R. "Stan" Sheetz, Bob's son, became president and Steve assumed the position of Chairman of the Board. To this day, Sheetz maintains a family business with four family members serving on the Executive Committee.
During the mid-1990s, Sheetz sold It! Cola, the chain's private-label brand of soft drinks available in cans, bottles, and as fountain drinks. The drink was discontinued and the fountains were replaced with Pepsi products. The chain now has both Pepsi and Coca-Cola products in the fountains.

2000s

In September 2001, Sheetz opened a distribution center in Claysburg, Pennsylvania.
In December 2004 they began offering the new Sheetz MasterCard PayPass with RFID technology, and was one of the first retailers to accept such technology, ahead of McDonald's, Arby's, CVS, and rival 7-Eleven, all of which introduced it nationally in 2006.
On July 10, 2006 Sheetz became Pennsylvania's second retail chain to offer E85 ethanol-based fuel alternative at select stations.
In 2008, Sheetz opened its first commissary, Sheetz Bros. Kitchen, to produce fresh sandwiches and bakery products that are sold at Sheetz locations.

2010s

Sheetz now has more than 500 locations across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina, and more than 17,000 employees. All Sheetz stores are company-owned-and-operated. The company has no plans to sell franchises. Sheetz is the dominant convenience store chain in much of Pennsylvania, holding a virtual monopoly in Altoona and a commanding share in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, but is noticeably absent from the Delaware Valley due to the presence of Wawa, leading to a fierce "rivalry" between the two chains among Pennsylvanians, though the two companies themselves have a friendly relationship.
In October 2013, Stan Sheetz became Chairman of the Board of Sheetz, with his cousin Joseph S. "Joe" Sheetz becoming president and CEO.
Published in November 2013, Kenneth Womack's Made to Order: The Sheetz Story traces the company's history from its dairy-store origins through the present day.
In 2014, Sheetz opened its second distribution center and kitchen facility in Burlington, North Carolina.
Sales for fiscal year 2018-2019 totaled $7.5 billion.
On November 29, 2019, Sheetz announced an expansion into Columbus, Ohio starting in 2021. Currently, the major competitors in that area include Speedway, Circle K, GetGo, United Dairy Farmers, and the locally based Duchess Shoppe.
On December 20, 2019, Sheetz celebrated the opening of its 600th store, in Shaler Township, PA.

Food service

In 1986, to boost lagging sales, Earl Springer, the manager of a Sheetz in Williamsport, MD, pursued a food concept that would become Sheetz's signature Made To Order line. Beginning with only submarine sandwiches, customers would fill out a small slip of paper, designating the ingredients they wanted on their sandwich, and in what quantity. The order slip would be placed in a basket, and the kitchen staff would prepare the sub to the customer's order. Since that time, the menu expanded, and by the 1990's MTO was a sales leader for Sheetz.
Beginning in 1996, the paper ordering system was phased out in favor of a picture-based computer touch-screen ordering system, although this, now, limited a customer's ability to customize the quantity of their chosen sandwich toppings.
By 1999, Sheetz was selling 10,000 MTO units a day. Sheetz now trains employees to function as baristas for their newest brand of "Sheetz Bros. Coffeez", which are designed to be higher-grade coffee than typically found in convenience stores. With the introduction of the "Convenience Restaurant" concept, they have expanded their menu. Customers can purchase an extremely wide variety of food items. The Espresso Bar, offering specialty coffees, is found at all locations. During 2008–2009, Sheetz rolled out "MTGo!", a grab and go assortment of sandwiches, wraps and other small items for the hurried customer. Along with "MTGo!", Sheetz unveiled "Shweetz Bakery" items including donuts, fritters and muffins made and delivered daily from the "Sheetz Bros. Kitchen" in Claysburg, Pennsylvania.
Sheetz regularly offers customers free coffee on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Food-only stores

In 2003, Sheetz opened a concept store in the food court of Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This location offered Sheetz' made-to-order foods and fountain beverages in a more traditional fast food layout. It did not function as a convenience store. The store has since closed.
In 2012, Sheetz, again, began contemplating "new concept", "fuel-free" locations. In 2014, a plan was announced to open such a location on the campus of West Virginia University, in Morgantown, WV. The intent was to call it "Sheetz MTO Market", however, when opened, in February 2015, the store was named "Sheetz Café".
In September 2015, another no-fuel café opened in State College, PA, near the campus of Penn State University. In Indiana, PA, on the border of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus, a Sheetz that previously carried gasoline was torn down, and replaced with a no-fuel café that opened in August 2016. A fourth such location opened in September 2017, in Charlottesville, VA, directly across the street from the campus of the University of Virginia.
In September 2019, Sheetz announced they would not renew their lease with WVU for that Morgantown location. The company offered no explanation for the closure.

Alcohol sales in Pennsylvania

Until June 8, 2016 Pennsylvania state law proscribed alcohol sales in convenience stores.. In 2007, Sheetz tried to find a loophole around this by classifying part of one of their prototype stores in Altoona as a restaurant, which would permit alcohol sales. The Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania protested and Sheetz was temporarily barred from selling beer. On appeal, Sheetz was awarded the license to sell beer and continues to do so today. On June 15, 2009, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court gave Sheetz permission to sell beer for takeout under the condition that it is also available to drink on site. Sheetz successfully led the effort to change alcohol sales laws in Pennsylvania to allow sales in convenience and grocery stores, which became law when Governor Tom Wolf signed Act 39 into law on June 8, 2016.

Fuel

Most Sheetz stores sell gasoline, featuring three grades of gasoline. Most offer kerosene, and many offer diesel. Many Sheetz locations have begun to offer E85. Some stores have also started to offer E15.

Awards