Palmer planners green light new Sheetz
New Lehigh Valley location would be in quadrant of Chrin Interchange.
A Sheetz convenience store-gas station could be the first tenant for the southeast quadrant of Route 33’s Chrin Interchange.
The Palmer Township Planning Commission on Tuesday voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the plan by township supervisors, who likely will consider it later this month or in February, said Keith Ottes of Langan Engineering.
Charles Chrin Cos. is proposing to build the Sheetz on a 13-acre site at 100 Trolley Line Drive.
The overall plan also includes a sit-down restaurant totaling 10,000 square feet, a 3,000-square-foot fast food restaurant and a four-story hotel with 108 rooms.
The Sheetz plan calls for a 6,077square-foot convenience store and drive-through, Ottes said.
Brent Brubaker, engineering permit manager for Sheetz, said the drivethrough sales will represent about 10 percent of the sales — less than that of a typical fast-food restaurant.
McDonald’s, by comparison, generates about 70 percent of their revenue via drive-through sales, he said.
“There’s normally not anybody in our drive-through,” he said.
Sheetz will also be pursuing a liquor license to for beer sales, Brubaker said.
"We will meet the indoor seating requirements for the ability to sell alcohol," he said.