ALTOONA, Pa. – Hot off the press, “Made to Order: The Sheetz Story,” hits store shelves today, a collaborative effort of the Sheetz family that tells the story of the company’s humble beginnings from local dairy to more than 400 Sheetz convenience stores in six states.

The Altoona Mirror writes that the book begins with Bob and Steve's grandfather, James E. "J.E." Harshbarger, who in 1907 formed J.E. Harshbarger Dairy Company in Altoona to help local farmers distribute excess milk. The tale continues, noting how in 1952 the family’s convenience store empire took off. Over the next 40 years, Sheetz added fuel, restaurants, car washes and its Made to Order foodservice program. 

Of course, not everything worked out at planned. "The mistakes we've made — I don't even call them mistakes anymore, we look at them as growing opportunities," Steve Sheetz told the Altoona Mirror. "Like, the first time we did a car wash. It was like an igloo. It froze up and we bulldozed it down. And now we have almost 140 car washes. We had 11 restaurants and now they're not there. ...That's kind of the history, you know?"

The newspaper writes that the book is blunt about the company’s struggles, particularly in the 1980s, and the events that led to “a more customer-friendly business plan.”

Steve Sheetz told the newspaper that he’s happy with the book, but that the story is far from over. "Today, you kind of wish your book was online, because every day things are changing," he said. "The book is done, so you kind of look at it like 'OK, that's the last 60 years, but how are we going to capture what's going on from here?'"

"Made to Order: The Sheetz Story" is now available in bookstores, at Sheetz stores and on e-readers.