Charles Town getting a Sheetz

July 17, 1997

By CLYDE FORD

Staff Writer, Charles Town

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Construction is nearly complete on a new Sheetz convenience store near Charles Town, Sheetz officials said Wednesday.

The store will be the third Sheetz in Jefferson County and the first in Charles Town. The others are in Shepherdstown and Kearneysville.

Sheetz is adding about 25 stores a year throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia, said spokeswoman Amy Hanna. The chain plans to open a store in Ohio in 1998 though a location has not been selected yet, she said.

The Charles Town store is tentatively scheduled to open on Aug. 14 if all goes well, Hanna said.

Sheetz generally opens stores on Thursdays, she said.

"I don't know why they pick that date," she said. "It must be tradition."

The family-owned convenience chain currently has 195 stores, Hanna said. The stores are within a 200-mile radius of the corporate headquarters in Altoona, Pa.

Steve Sheetz, chairman of the board, said the company is trying to maintain a controlled growth pace.

"As long as we continue to meet and exceed our customer expectations then we will continue to grow," Sheetz said.

The Sheetz family opened their first convenience store in 1952.

The 4,185-square-foot store in Charles Town will have five gasoline "isles" where up to 10 vehicles can be fueled at a time, Hanna said.

The store will have about 60 parking spaces.

|

|

|