Sheetz

Sheetz, Inc.

File:Sheetz Logo.png
Company type	Private
Industry	Convenience stores Fast food Gas stations
Founded	1952
Founder	Bob Sheetz
Headquarters	Altoona, Pennsylvania , USA
Key people	Stan Sheetz, CEO
Products	MTO, Sheetz Bros. Coffee, Gasoline
Revenue	$3.8 Billion USD (2006)
Number of employees	more than 11,000 (2006)
Website	Sheetz.com

A typical Sheetz in Durham, North Carolina.

Interior of the Super Sheetz in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Sign showing gas prices in front of the Sheetz store in Mount Jackson, Virginia, at the beginning of the Hurricane Katrina-related price spike.

Sheetz, Inc. is a chain of gas stations/convenience stores owned by the Sheetz family. Stores are located in Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Sheetz has long employed the "Z" that the name ends with in various marketing efforts. These include Sheetz' re-loadable gift card- The "Z" card, the Sheetz breakfast sandwich – known and marketed as "Shmuffinz," and their "Nachoz."

History

Sheetz, Inc was founded by Bob Sheetz in 1952 when he purchased one of his father's five dairy stores located in Altoona, Pennsylvania. In 1961, Bob hired his brother Steve to work part-time at the store.

In 1963 the second store was opened under the name "Sheetz Kwik Shopper." Five years later, they opened the third store. In 1969, Steve joined Bob in the business as 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 added gasoline pumps and introduced self-serve gasoline to Central Pennsylvania.

By 1983, Bob and Steve had opened 100 stores. The following year, Bob retired and handed over the leadership of the company to his brother Steve.

In 1995, 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 five family members serving on the Executive Committee.

During the mid-1990s, Sheetz also sold It! Cola, the chain's own private-label brand of soft drinks available in cans, bottles, and as fountain drinks. Despite a cult following, the drink was discontinued for unknown reasons and the fountains were replaced with Pepsi products. The chain now has both Pepsi and Coca-Cola products in the fountains, though in older stores with fewer fountain spots available it is still predominantly Pepsi products, with Coca-Cola and Diet Coke as the only Coke-related options.

In 2003, Sheetz opened a concept store in the food court of Hanes Mall in Winston Salem, NC. 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 early 2004, Sheetz opened the world's first "Convenience Restaurant" in Altoona, PA. In December 2004 they began offering the new Sheetz Mastercard PayPass with RFID technology built into the card, and was one of the first retailers of any sector to accept such technology, ahead of McDonald's, Arby's, CVS, and rival 7-Eleven, all of which rolled it out nationally in 2006.

On July 10, 2006 Sheetz became Pennsylvania's second retail chain to offer E85 ethanol-based fuel alternative at the select stations.

Sheetz now has 344 locations across six states — Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina — and more than 11,000 employees.

Food service

Sheetz started off with their signature "MTO" name, which stands for "Made To Order." By 1999, Sheetz was selling 10,000 MTO units a day. Sheetz now hires and trains 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 made-to-order sandwiches and hot dogs, as well as pizza, panini grilled sandwiches, breakfast items, salads and chili. Italian gelato iced cream, and french fries are also offered at certain locations. The Espresso Bar, which offers specialty coffees, is also available at certain locations.

Sheetz regularly offers customers free coffee on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Fuel

All Sheetz stores feature gasoline, most offer kerosene, and many offer diesel. Some Sheetz gas stations in the Pittsburgh area have begun to offer E85.

Awards

A Sheetz location in Kent, Ohio.

In 2001, Sheetz won a Silver Plate Award from the International Food Manufacturers Association. Forbes ranked Sheetz as the 79th top privately held company in 2006.

Sheetz was ranked as the 12th best large company to work for in Pennsylvania in the 2007 Best Places to Work in PA survey. In the same survey in 2006, Sheetz was ranked 22nd. In 2005, Sheetz was ranked 12th. In Ohio, Sheetz is ranked in the top 5 places to work.

Controversy

Alcohol sales

By Pennsylvania state law, alcohol can't be sold in convenience stores. (Beer must be sold at a beer distributor while hard liquor must be sold at state-operated stores titled "Wine's & Spirits.") 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. However, state courts in Pennsylvania promptly overruled this. Sheetz continues to sell alcohol in other states.

Jeff Reed paper towel dispenser incident

Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Jeff Reed was cited by police on February 14th, 2009, for disorderly conduct and criminal mischief for destroying a paper towel holder in a bathroom at a Sheetz location in New Alexandria, Pennsylvania. Reed was reportedly angry that the men's restroom was out of paper towels. The incident, which occurred during late-night hours, gave Sheetz some national attention since the story was picked up by the Associated Press. The incident also occurred two weeks after the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII.

External links

• Sheetz