SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — A ‘Welcome Back’ sign over the entrance greeted customers Friday, opening day of the new Sheetz convenience store on Route 61 and Manheim Road.
Customers flocked to get a glimpse of the new 6,130-square-foot store, about 13% larger than the previous store at the same location.
Sheetz demolished the old store in February, and replaced it with a ground-up reconfiguration of the original.
“It looks fantastic,” said Virginia Giamarino. “It’s definitely an improvement.”
Not being able to get her morning coffee for six months was a huge inconvenience, said Giamarino, tapping a brew at one of Sheetz Coffeez machines.
Truth be known, on occasion she defected to the Rutter’s store a few miles south on Route 61.
Sheetz did not have a ribbon cutting to mark the opening of the new store, though a district manager was onsite. The Altoona-based company considers stores put on the location of a previous store as rebuilds, not new stores.
Still, the word got around, and by midmorning Friday the store was busy.
Lured by $2.69-a-gallon regular unleaded, the new gas pumps were getting a work out. All of the 10 lanes were busy, and sometimes there was a line of vehicles awaiting service.
Actually, Sheetz reduced the size of its fueling operation. The previous store had 12 filling lanes. The new setup, however, offers diesel fuel at every pump.
Hailey Skelly said the store was nice inside, but would have liked a drive-thru.
Unlike its renovated store at Route 209 and Gordon Nagle Road, Sheetz did not install a drive-thru at the Schuylkill Haven location. North Manheim Twp. officials ruled that the lot was not big enough to accommodate a drive-thru.
Jeni Betancourt would have liked a drive-thru, but she can live without one. What she really wanted was a car wash.
“I’m originally from the Lehigh Valley, and the Sheetz down there has a car wash,” said Betancourt, a Pottsville nurse.
No car wash is no deal breaker though, and Betancourt will stop at Sheetz on the way to work as she had before.
“I normally stop in for an MTO and coffee,” she said. “I’m glad they’re open again.”
Sheetz stores undergo regular renovations. The Pottsville store was demolished in November 2022 and the new one opened in April 2023.
Sheetz has 788 stores in seven states, about 39% of which are in Pennsylvania.
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People walk under the “Welcome Back” sign at the reopened Sheetz on Route 61 near Schuylkill Haven, Friday, July 25, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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People walk under the “Welcome Back” sign at the reopened Sheetz on Route 61 near Schuylkill Haven, Friday, July 25, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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