Sheetz CEO visits to Romulus, learns about Michigan left, Detroit pizza and hand maps

It’s only a matter of time before Travis Sheetz will be able to explain where his family-run and -owned company has added convenience stores and gas stations in Michigan by holding up his hand and pointing. He's learning about the state’s nuances.

And there's one — two, actually, connected to Big 10 sports — he isn't really down with.

But first, the 53-year-old executive is trying to get a Sheetz built in Romulus.

The president and CEO was in metro Detroit on Thursday — just missing a sunny 313 Day, you know, March 13 — for a groundbreaking ceremony under a white, rain-soaked tent at 33380 Wick Road, where the state’s first Sheetz is scheduled to open in September.

The event — attended by about 80 Sheetz employees, Romulus officials and construction company representatives who drove in for it from as far away as Dayton, Ohio — livestreamed back to the headquarters in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

"We have over 200 people at our corporate office watching live on the web right now," said Nick Ruffner, the Sheetz public relations manager. "One of them, watching from Florida, actually, is the 90-year-old founder, Bob. Let's hear everybody say, 'Hi Bob.' "

Travis Sheetz, the founder's nephew, said it wasn't always easy to open a new store, and this was the first in a new state for the company in 20 years. He told the dignitaries that the expansion into Michigan is exciting for him, and that he hoped it would be exciting for the state too.

"Until you really experience" a Sheetz, he said, "you're not going to understand it." He summarized the company's history — how "uncle Bob" started it with just one in Pennsylvania in 1952, and gradually added more.

About the closest thing to a Sheetz is Wawa, which also is based in Pennsylvania, and has some geographical overlap with Sheetz in Maryland and Virginia, but doesn't operate in Michigan.

An $11 billion company, Sheetz already employs more than 25,000 at 720-something stores in a half-dozen states, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina. And it plans to open 50-60 stores in metro Detroit, and more, after that, throughout the state.

Sheetz ceremoniously turned some dirt with a red shovel and — as a gesture of its support for the local communities — handed out about $30,000 to local organizations, the Michigan Special Olympics, Forgotten Harvest and the Romulus Public Library.

Last month, Sheetz and a small team boarded the corporate jet to meet with the Free Press and other news outlets in Detroit to explain why the company is betting on a big Michigan expansion, even if some communities are not too keen on it.

The CEO, however, is unfazed and undeterred.

Sheetz stores bring jobs — about 30 per location with pay starting at just under $15 an hour, with benefits, including medical and dental insurance, a retirement plan and stock ownership — and they enhance a community's tax base.

Travis Sheetz said he understands the reluctance that some communities initially have, telling the Free Press "a lot of people love our brand, but not everyone wants to live next to one," but also that opposition, with education and patience, can be overcome.

In Columbus, Ohio — Buckeye Country — folks opposed an expansion, but the company now has dozens of stores there.

With each visit to Michigan, Travis Sheetz has learned more about the state. He now knows how to make a Michigan left and about Detroit-style pizza, which he said he recently tried making at home in Pennsylvania, after eating one at Buddy’s.

His, he said as if he were surprised, turned out pretty good.

Sheetz already knows about Faygo.

For a while, the convenience store sold the pop brand and, Sheetz said, the customers loved it.

At the Free Press, which is across the street from the competing American and Lafayette Coney Island eateries, Sheetz said he’d like to try their dogs as well as sample some of the other Michigan traditions. Just don’t expect the Penn State grad and recent grad parent to "go blue" or "green."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sheetz, Romulus celebrate company's expansion plans to Michigan