Sheetz, a regional 24/7 convenience store, announces plans to come to Michigan

Sheetz, the regional family-run convenience store and gas station chain with a loyal customer base and a name that makes teenage boys giggle, announced that it aims to open stores in Michigan, an expansion of its geographical footprint from neighboring Ohio.

The round-the-clock retailer said it plans to open a Detroit store in 2025 — and more later.

"We are thrilled to continue our growth into Michigan and bring the ultimate one-stop-shop to people across the state," said Travis Sheetz, the company's president and CEO. "Sheetz is dedicated to being a great employer and neighbor and we cannot wait to put those values into action as we expand into our first new state in two decades."

While Sheetz made its official announcement first to the Free Press, reports of its Michigan expansion had been quietly circulating on the internet since earlier this month.

On its website — under the heading "What's a Sheetz?" — the company calls itself "a mecca for people on the go," adding that "if you need to refuel your car or refresh your body, we have what you need" all the time, "even on Christmas."

Loyal customers, the company said, call themselves "Sheetz Freakz."

And the company, recognizing how its name elicits amusement, has a marketing campaign: "Why the Sheetz not?"

Still, the private company's expansion is unusual at a time when other companies, and consumers, are cutting back on costs, and automakers are pushing to shift auto sales away from from gas-powered cars to more electric. But it is betting on convenience: A customer's need for low-priced, easy-to-get goods in a 24/7 economy.

It also, the company said, is trying to invest early in electric recharging stations.

The retailer's announcement, which touted its recognition as a good employer with wages that usually start at $14.50 an hour, did not say exactly where else — or how many — stores it planned to open in the state.

But the CEO said the company believes what it is offering "will resonate" with local residents and it aimed to have a "major presence in the entire Detroit metro area" and eventually more stores through out the state adding up to about 75.

Each Sheetz store, the company said, employs about 30 people, with competitive pay and benefits, including medical and dental insurance, a retirement plan, stock ownership and flexible schedules.

The Altoona, Pennsylvania-based retailer said that USA TODAY, which like the Detroit Free Press is owned by Gannett, had named Sheetz a "best regional fast food chain," a distinction that the company has held onto for at least the past three years.

In 2020, when Sheetz was No. 1 on the list, the award citation said: "If you’re in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio or North Carolina, be sure to stop at Sheetz, a combination gas station and made-to-order sandwich shop."

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Sheetz said it has a "vast selection" of made-to-order food, such as breakfast, lunch and dinner, and beverages, including "espresso beverages created on traditional Italian espresso machines." In the 1990s, it sold a private-label soft drink, It! Cola, marketed as a lower-cost alternative to Coke and Pepsi.

For a while, the company carried Detroit's Faygo brand.

More recently, they began selling another private-label brand, Pop, which essentially replaced It! Cola.

While Sheetz advertises fresh fruit, salads and healthier sandwiches, its menu also includes fast food items.

The new stores will offer Detroiters convenience, but will likely have little effect on the more serious concern that 69% of Detroit households struggle with a consistent diet of healthy foods because they do not have access to them, and cannot afford them.

Still, Sheetz said, it has a charitable program it will use to try to address hunger in the state.

Bob Sheetz started the company in 1952. He bought one of his father’s dairy stores in Altoona, and opened a second store in 1963, calling it "Sheetz Kwik Shopper."

Five years later, the company opened a third store. In 1972, Sheetz had doubled from seven to fourteen stores, and the next year it added gasoline pumps. By 1983, the company opened 100 stores and it now operates in six states, with nearly 670 stores.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sheetz, a regional convenience store chain, to expand into Michigan