New Stanton Sheetz set to close as construction of larger store set to begin

A major overhaul of the Sheetz in New Stanton is scheduled to begin next week, leaving the popular convenience store and gas station shuttered for most of the summer.

Located at the intersection of North Center and West Byers avenues, the business will close Monday as crews begin demolishing the store before building a new one that will cater to tractor-trailers as well as passenger vehicles, according to company Spokesman Nick Ruffner.

“Sheetz is excited to be offering our loyal customers in New Stanton a new store design, which will include a restaurant-style experience with self-service kiosks and additional seating both inside and outside the store,” Ruffner said. “The new store will also include the addition of a commercial fueling station to the site.”

In addition to demolishing the current Sheetz building, the shuttered New Stanton Garden Inn hotel next door will be razed in preparation for the expanded store. The Sheetz and Garden Inn properties were originally home to a Howard Johnson’s restaurant and motor lodge beginning in 1960.

Sheetz purchased the Garden Inn property from from Bahubali Hospitality LLC in February for $1.82 million, according to Westmoreland County property tax records.

Plans for the renovations of the Sheetz store were first approved by New Stanton borough council in 2019. At the time, council imposed a one-hour time limit on tractor-trailer parking in an attempt to dissuade the property from becoming a full-fledged truck stop, officials said last year.

Sheetz successfully appealed the condition in Westmoreland County court. Judge Harry Smail Jr. wrote in his decision that Pennsylvania law does not allow municipalities to use zoning ordinances to dictate how companies can operate their businesses.

Borough leaders also granted permission for the company to sell alcohol in the new store.

The Sheetz is expected to reopen in the fall, but Ruffner noted it is too soon to know an exact date.

During the closure, Sheetz employees from the New Stanton store have been offered temporary jobs within the company at other locations.