A popular gas station and convenience store chain known for its highly customizable menu offerings via its popular made-to-order kiosks is set to deliver some more inventive creations of its own following the opening of a new facility in Bakery Square.
Sheetz Inc., based in Altoona, celebrated the grand opening of its 20,000-square-foot Innovation Hub on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local political, business and nonprofit organization leaders.
Located in the former Matthews Corp. building at 6515 Penn Ave., the new facility expands Sheetz's presence in the area following the opening of a nearby office location in October 2019. The company signed a long-term lease for its new space with Walnut Capital Partners in 2021 to take the second floor of Bakery Office Four, which neighbors the sprawling former Nabisco bakery complex that's anchored by Google LLC next door.
It's the closeness to that tech titan and others nearby as well as the general proximity to the students who are graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh down the road that has Sheetz ambitious in its efforts to recruit similar-minded talent that will help spur up future enhancements to the company's operations, which span over 670 convenience stores across six states.
"I think Pittsburgh will provide a great conduit for us in terms of talent, in terms of innovation, in terms of technology," Travis Sheetz, president and CEO of Sheetz, told Pittsburgh Inno. "Being in central Pennsylvania; we've been there for 70 years and it's been great for us, but we need to branch out in the areas where we have people that are in the areas where we're growing, right? We're looking ahead into the future and we think that Pittsburgh can be a great, great enabler for that."
Emily Sheetz, vice president of strategy and information technology ay Sheetz, has been tasked with overseeing much of the company's expansion efforts in Pittsburgh over the past few years. She said the company is excited to be a part of the Pittsburgh ecosystem as it relates to its business, technology and innovation strengths.
"We think that we have a ton to not only contribute but also learn from and build together with them, with the partners around academia, business, government, and we're just really happy to finally have a place that we can call home and open our doors to that community," she said. "My favorite part [is] how inclusive this space is. Inclusive and energetic. It is just a place where you want to be and it's a place that you get excited to come to work [at]."
The new innovation hub employs about 60 to 70 people at present, which unofficially started welcoming workers last November "even though we didn't have all the doors," Emily Sheetz said. The break room area features some of the popular made-to-order beverage machines that are found in the company's stores. Booth seating is also available, likely another reference to its quick-service restaurant offerings. There's also general office space, conference rooms and an auditorium area for events.
