Sheetz gets its liquor license in Whitehall
Commissioner says, “This is the best deal we could get.”
“We’re just trying to live our lives. We’re just trying to sleep. I have to see it to believe it — whether Sheetz is going to anything about all of this.” — Anna Smith
After the state reversed the denial of a liquor license transfer at a Sheetz gas station in Palmer Township, officials in Whitehall say they could see the writing on the wall.
On Monday night commissioners, reluctant for months to permit the MacArthur Road Sheetz to sell alcohol, voted unanimously to allow for the license transfer as long as the company adheres to conditions laid out by the township.
Commissioner Joseph Marx Jr. appealed to the half dozen or so neighbors of Sheetz who showed up Monday to see the vote. Residents who live near the Sheetz say the noise at night can be unbearable and is diminishing their quality of life.
“My personal belief is that this is the best deal we could get,” Marx said. “I didn’t fold on this. At least with these conditions in place we have some skin in the game.”
Earlier this month, Palmer Township’s 2017 denial of a liquor license for a Sheetz store within their borders was reversed after the company took the appeal straight to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
Whitehall commissioners, meanwhile, moved forward with approving a liquor license transfer to a different gas station convenience store in the township, at the Exxon roughly 2.4 miles south of Sheetz. The rationale for the difference between the approvals hinged on location, officials said since the Exxon was nowhere near any residential neighborhoods.
The conditions outlined for the Whitehall Township Sheetz require the business to address issues with insufficient trash receptacles on the property, post “No Loitering” signs and work with Whitehall Township police to install and position cameras on the property to monitor disruptive patrons.
Marx said he believed Sheetz was willing to become better corporate neighbors through these policies.
After Whitehall commissioners denied the transfer in April, Sheetz filed an appeal in Lehigh County Court. Commissioner President Dennis Hower said he found the litigation “discouraging,” but Ellen Freeman, solicitor for the company, said they were simply protecting their right to appeal.
Sheetz has been working with Whitehall Solicitor Sarah Warren on coming up with the conditional agreement that would satisfy everyone without a court battle.
Freeman said the Sheetz will have to serve alcohol on the premises thanks to a recent vote by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Commissioners had hoped to ban drinking at the property, but Freeman said there will be limits to what can be consumed.
Since the state is still working out details about what kind of alcohol must be served at these locations, Freeman included limits for every kind in the agreement, just to be safe. The limit is two standard pours. For beer that’s12 ounces, for wine it’s 4 ounces and for spirits it’s an ounce and a half.
Commissioner Thomas Sloanaker said he was upset to see a sign at the Sheetz that declared, “Beer Sold Here Soon” since it wasn’t until Monday that Whitehall allowed the company to move forward with the license transfer.
“To me, that’s the height of arrogance,” Sloanaker said. “That’s basically them saying, we don’t give a damn.”
Residents weren’t thrilled with the news and were skeptical about Sheetz’s commitment to fixing the problems. Hower sought to assure residents that the conditional agreement provides as much protection as the township can provide and he believes this is a chance at a new relationship between the store and its neighbors.
Anna Smith, whose backyard abuts the gas station, said the noise is sometimes so loud that neighbors can’t hear their televisions. She described her experience of living next door as ranging from unpleasant to maddening. Smith said she no longer buys anything from the Sheetz as her own personal protest for how she said the business has ignored neighbors.
“We’re just trying to live our lives. We’re just trying to sleep,” Smith said Monday. “I have to see it to believe it — whether Sheetz is going to anything about all of this.”
Matthew Fenstermacher, the manager at the store, provided his phone number to anxious residents. He implored them to call him when they have problems.
“I don’t always know what’s happening because I’m not there 24 hours,” he said. “But I want to know what’s going on there.”