Enough to make you go 'Wawa': Sheetz isn't coming to Oakland as sign indicates
Not yet coming to Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood: A Sheetz store on Forbes Avenue.
But a sign that appeared on chain link fencing surrounding a former Marathon gas station appeared to indicate otherwise over the weekend.
It had the Sheetz logo on it and “Coming soon!”
The site is set to be developed as a 300-unit apartment complex on Forbes between Semple Street and McKee Place. Chicago-based CA Ventures is behind the project, which is awaiting approval from the city’s planning commission.
“I can confirm that Sheetz is not planning to locate a store at 3500 Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood,” Harry Hammel, who handles public relations for Altoona-based Sheetz, wrote in an email Monday afternoon.
Students at the University of Pittsburgh “rejoiced” at the potential news, according to a story in The Pitt News.
If you go to Pitt, you know about the “Sheetz vs. Wawa'' debate. While everyone has their own view as to which one’s better, one thing’s certain — a Sheetz is not coming to Oakland.https://t.co/cFMSScqTjO
— The Pitt News (@ThePittNews) July 26, 2021
But the newspaper and others debunked the story, to the dismay of the Yinzer Twittersphere.
“Someone in Oakland really woke up this weekend and decided to create a chaotic Sheetz hoax,” one Twitter user noted. “Someone made a sign with the @sheetz logo on it that said ‘coming soon’ and stuck it on a fence on a construction site in Oakland. The sign was LAMINATED. So it seemed very official.”
Another person weighed in with: “Whoever posted that sign is a monster. Also, a Sheetz in Oakland is a great idea.”
Going from thinking we would finally have a Sheetz in Oakland to not having one in a matter of a DAY is the emotional rollercoaster I was never prepared for
— Barstool Pitt (@StoolPitt) July 26, 2021
In addition to the denial from Sheetz, any potential for MTOs being available near the Pitt campus was also denied by the Oakland Planning and Development Corp., a group that helps development projects in the neighborhood.
“I am not aware of it,” said Nicholas Binfield, the group’s community outreach coordinator.
Tom Davidson is a TribLive news editor. He has been a journalist in Western Pennsylvania for more than 25 years. He can be reached at tdavidson@triblive.com.
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