Sheetz, the family-owned 24/7 convenience store chain expanding into Michigan, is announcing it plans to open more than a dozen locations in the state this year, an estimated half-billion-dollar investment.
The company said on Wednesday, Feb. 4, that its stores ― a total of 14 this year ― will offer more “access to convenient food and retail options” throughout southeast Michigan while also “creating jobs that offer training, advancement, and long-term career opportunities.”
The stores, the company said, are expected to create about 400 jobs.
The company said it plans to open stores in Eastpointe, Ypsilanti, Warren, Taylor, Novi, Fraser, Orion Township, Macomb, Shelby Township, Belleville and Royal Oak, with two stores each in Taylor, Warren and Macomb.
Public reaction to Sheetz since the company entered Michigan has been mixed.
Some people have welcomed the company’s plans to fill vacant lots and spaces that used to be bowling alleys, banks and churches with new businesses, and while others object to the additional traffic and noise they expect them to bring.
Sheetz, which was started in 1952, touts that it is “one of America’s fastest-growing family-owned and -operated convenience store chains” with more than 800 stores in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina — and most recently, Michigan.
The company opened its fourth 24-hour gas station and convenience store in Michigan in late December at 31925 Van Dyke Ave. in Warren, which, years ago, had been home to Pampa Lanes bowling alley.
Addresses for the 2026 store openings are:
The company said it aims to operate 50-60 stores in Michigan in the next 5-6 years.
“This is an incredibly exciting year for Sheetz in Michigan,” spokesman, Nick Ruffner, added. “We can’t wait to become part of these communities, and we look forward to serving the specific needs of our neighbors in each of these areas.”
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sheetz racing to open 14 gas stations in Detroit suburbs
Reporting by Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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