New Sheetz gets high praise
SLIPPERY ROCK — The new Sheetz store in the borough is working out very well, the company said.
“It’s always been a good market for us,” said Ryan Sheetz, director of brand development. “We’re really happy with it.”
The store is located on 1.3 acres at the corner of Main and Franklin streets, the borough’s main intersection. It has four fuel pumps and the building is 6,893 square feet.
Construction began in summer 2013 and the store opened in November.
Sheetz said the community has responded positively to the changes in the store, such as a larger food service area and twice as many fuel pumps as the old Sheetz store in the borough.
The former store was built in 1981, and officials said it was becoming obsolete, requiring the new store.
Sheetz said the status of the former store, located at the corner of Main and Cooper streets, is up in the air right now. Currently, it stands empty.
Borough Mayor Ron Fodor said he has not heard any complaints about the store from residents.
“I think it’s great,” Fodor said.
He said the new store is a lot more pleasing to the eye than the other one.
“When I go past it, I think, wow, it’s an attractive store,” Fodor said.
He said he likes that the store has more fuel pumps and more parking.
“It’s a lot easier to get into than the other one,” Fodor said.
Bill Sonntag, president of Slippery Rock Development, said Sheetz has done a good job of having the store blend in with the town center appearance of the area, with added trees and a nice fence.
“It’s certainly a big improvement over the old one,” Sonntag said.
He said a new left turn signal and turning lane on Route 258 south at the intersection with Route 108, which were added as a part of the store’s land development, seem to be working well. He said he has not heard of any traffic problems at the site, either.
“It certainly looks busy all the time,” Sonntag said.
