Rutter’s wants to open in Lehigh Valley
A new convenience store chain may finally be making its move into the Lehigh Valley to compete with Wawa, Sheetz, Turkey Hill, 7-Eleven and other stores offering coffee, sandwiches and snacks.
Central Pennsylvania convenience store chain Rutter’s is scheduled to appear Tuesday before the Palmer Township Planning Commission with sketch plans for a store at 1280 Main St., according to the commission’s agenda.
“We’re very early in the land development process and we look forward to working with local officials to complete our newly proposed location,” said Chris Hartman, a Rutter’s spokesperson.
Hartman provided no specifics on the project, and an email message left with township officials was not returned.
The store would be built in the Chrin Commerce Centre, which has a Sheetz convenience store, Wendy’s fast food restaurant and WoodSpring Suites hotel under construction.
The 800-acre Chrin Commerce Centre, which surrounds a Route 33 interchange, opened in 2015 and also hosts more than a dozen warehouses either opened or under construction.
Rutter’s is a privately held chain of convenience stores headquartered in York. It operates 86 locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia. Its nearest store to the Lehigh Valley on Kutztown Road outside Kutztown.
In 2019, Rutters had 75 locations when it was planning to open the Kutztown store. At the time, a spokesperson told The Morning Call, the company was looking for areas to expand in the Lehigh Valley and Berks County, to capitalize
on the boom in convenience stores, notably from Wawa and Sheetz.
But in 2021, Upper Macungie Township’s zoning board ruled against a proposal by Rutter’s along Grim and Orchard roads, saying it amounted to a truck stop and not a convenience store. Many residents spoke against the project over traffic concerns.
The National Association of Convenience Stores says 152,396 stores operate in the U.S., a 1.5% increase from 2023 that reversed a pandemic-led, four-year decline. The convenience-store boom has resumed its growth throughout the Valley. On Lehigh Street in Allentown, for example, a Wawa is planning to open next door to Sheetz and Turkey Hill, creating a uniquely Pennsylvanian convenience store war along the strip.
“The convenience store industry is very competitive, and I am sure it is part of their strategy to expand their business,” Denise Ogden, a marketing professor at Penn State-Lehigh Valley, said of Rutter’s. “The Lehigh Valley is a growing area, and we have the amount of people to sustain a business such as theirs.”
Ogden said she has been
impressed on her visits to Rutter’s Kutztown Road (Route 222) location for its ease of getting in and out, along with its variety of food and other offerings. Rutter’s is part of a family-managed group of companies that also includes dairy and beverage operations, and a real estate company.
Jeff Lenard, a spokesperson for the National Association of Convenience Stores, said Rutter’s roots date to 1747, when it began operating a family farm near York that remains in the family. Its website says it is the oldest “vertically integrated” food company in the country, which refers to a company controlling different stages along a supply chain instead of relying on external suppliers for better control over production.
Rutter’s has a plethora of food items on its menu, including seafood and Asian-themed food, some of it prepared in woks, Lenard said. The chain is also known for its jalapeno and cheese bites, a “Walking taco” and crab cake sliders.
Rutter’s offers the latest innovations of food, drinks and service, according to Lenard, but at some stores, including one in Amish country where he visited, the store had a hitching post with shovel and garbage can “for someone with a horse and buggy.”
“They’re very progressive but also very aware of the community in which they are located,” Lenard said.
Hartman, who is vice president of fuels, advertising and development, said in an email: “The whole Rutter’s team is excited to join the community and to serve them with our award-winning offerings in the near future!”
Ogden, who has researched retail and arenas such as buyer motivation, said a new store like Rutter’s can compete against the more recognizable convenience stores in the Valley with good products and by building brand loyalty.
“I think Rutter’s will initially get that buzz,” she said, “but they have to build that clientele through loyalty and product quality.”
The Palmer Planning Commission meeting is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday in the lower level of the township municipal building at 3 Weller Place, to the right side of the municipal building’s front entrance.