ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Sheetz purchased 15.4 acres in Mahoning County, Ohio, last week, in a $2.4 million transaction. The property is in North Jackson, near Youngstown, in northeastern Ohio. The land is part of a 200-acre development.

The Business Journal reports that Sheetz currently has eight sites in the Mahoning Valley. Last week the convenience retailer announced that former CEO Joe Sheetz was appointed chair of the board of directors.

In August, NACS Magazine explored new builds from MAPCO and Maverik.

“The design approach of Maverik—Adventure’s First Stop continues to pull customers into an immersive experience with graphics that create connections to the brand’s inherent messaging of fueling adventure. How the nearly 400-store chain tackles that graphics program has evolved over the years, said Sarah Kovac, director of architecture and engineering for Maverik.

Customers see images of places they likely frequent if they live nearby or a location they just visited if they are traveling through the state. Images at the Oroville, California, store that opened in October 2021, for example, are all unique to California. In-house photographers take all the images, and stores include topographic maps specific to each state.”

Meanwhile, at MAPCO’s new flagship store, “Customers are greeted with wide open spaces from the moment they walk into the store, with higher ceiling heights adding to the feeling of openness. From a traffic-flow standpoint, when customers enter the store, they see the large coffee island first, with a Subway quick-service restaurant sitting adjacent to that. An expanded cold vault offering, complete with a beer cave and visible from the entry point, consumes much of the back of the store.

Outside, a curved canopy over the forecourt additionally contributes to the more modern store aesthetic. The canopy is unique in terms of how it presents itself equally well on two different highways, MAPCO CFO Keith Slater said, describing it as a boomerang shape. “The canopy itself is a little thinner than a traditional canopy. We didn’t want to hide the store. It works to leverage the traffic from both highways,” he added, “and presents the store from every angle.”

Look for a feature on navigating local regulations when constructing a new build in the March issue of NACS Magazine.