Dive Brief:
- Sheetz has announced its expansion into Michigan, with plans to open its first c-stores in Detroit starting in 2025, according to a Tuesday announcement.
- The move into Michigan will make it the first new state to get a Sheetz in two decades, CEO Travis Sheetz said in the announcement.
- Altoona, Pennsylvania-based Sheetz becomes the fourth major c-store retailer since September to announce expansion plans into Michigan, signaling that the Great Lakes State has become a popular destination for c-stores.
Dive Insight:
While it has added new stores in Ohio and Pennsylvania over the past year and a half, Sheetz hasn’t made as many new-market moves as some of its competitors over recent years. Sheetz’s footprint includes 669 stores across Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.
That makes its venture into Michigan all the more notable. And it’s not alone in targeting the state, with Kum & Go, Kwik Trip and Royal Farms all recently announcing their entries.
Kum & Go’s first Michigan stores are expected to open by the end of this year, while Kwik Trip opened its first Ironwood, Michigan, store earlier this year and Royal Farms will debut its inaugural Michigan locations in 2023. Kum & Go’s expansion plans include 50 stores in Detroit, which will compete with Sheetz’s locations in the area.
Each Michigan Sheetz store will feature the retailer’s customizable, made-to-order foodservice menu, which is open 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Items range from burgers and burritos to chicken platters, sub sandwiches and fried appetizers.
Like the rest of its stores, each new Sheetz location will have about 30 employees. Sheetz’s employee benefits package includes medical and dental insurance, a retirement plan, an employee stock ownership plan, flexible schedules and more. Sheetz invested over $70 million into its store employee wages in 2021, according to the announcement
