EAST LANSING — Sheetz, a rapidly expanding, Pennsylvania-based chain of gas station and convenience stores, said it intends to build a store in downtown East Lansing, the first of what could be up to a dozen such stores in mid-Michigan.
The new store would occupy the northeast corner of East Saginaw Street and Abbot Road and create 30 to 35 new jobs, most of them full-time “with competitive pay and outstanding benefits,” the chain said.
“Sheetz is excited to confirm our intention to open a store in East Lansing as we expand into mid-Michigan,” Nick Ruffner, the chain’s public affairs manager, said in a Sept. 16 news release. “We’re proud to invest in the people of mid-Michigan while delivering the convenience, quality, and service that customers have come to love.”
Ruffner characterized the proposed East Lansing store as “a welcoming community hub” and “go-to location designed to be part of the community.”
Sheetz operates more than 700 stores in multiple states and has been expanding into Michigan, with multiple locations in southest Michigan. All of its stores are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Detroit Free Press has reported.
A rendering of a proposed Sheetz in Hartland Township.
Some residents and business owners have cited concerns about traffic, commotion and competition with other local businesses, and in at least two Detroit-area communities, government officials have rejected proposed Sheetz stores, the newspaper said.
Plans for the East Lansing store have been submitted to the city, and a public hearing on the chain’s request for a special use permit is set for Oct. 8 before the Planning Commision, according to the city’s website.
Sheetz is proposing a 6,139-square-foot “restaurant with a drive-thru and four gas pump islands with eight pumps” at 111 E. Saginaw Street, according to the website. The property is zoned B-2 Retail Sales Business District, it said.
Sheetz plans to open at least six, and up to a dozen, stores in mid-Michigan, said John Whetstone, of Truscott Rossman, which is working with Sheetz. The company is not specifying locations or giving a timeline for opening those stores, he said.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Sheetz plans to open its first mid-Michigan store in East Lansing
