The Ongoing Sheetz Saga
Residents of Farmington Hills showed up at a council meeting to protest the opening of a Sheetz gas station in their community.
For years, the Chaldean News has been covering the gas station wars—with the Pennsylvania-based Sheetz Corporation planning to open 50-60 (down from nearly 100) stores in metro Detroit, and existing gas station retailers opposing their plans. A recent article in support of Sheetz’ development calls the opposition “illegitimate” and accuses various principalities of government overreach.
Nasir Siddiqui, President of the Metro Detroit Petroleum Alliance (MDPA), has issues with such reporting, especially considering some discoveries regarding Sheetz putting city commission members on their payroll and hiring legal, architectural, engineering and other consultants across the region with ties to municipal decision makers in the cities where developments are being proposed.
It’s complicated, and there are more than two sides to the story. Reprinted below are the article referenced and the reply from the MDPA. Feel strongly about it? We recommend you pen a letter to the editor.
The illegitimate pushback against Sheetz in Michigan
Gas-and-food retailer faces objections from would-be competitors
Sheetz, a Pennsylvania-based company that sells gasoline and made-to-order food, wants to expand its footprint in Michigan. The chain, which offers a wide selection of decent meals at a low cost, has plans to add dozens of new stations in metro Detroit.
It shouldn’t be news that a company with several hundred stores wants to expand. But Sheetz is in the news because some businesses, citizens and public officials in various cities want to to use government power to prevent the retailer from opening.
Some complaints come from people who object to the gas stations’ 24/7 operations. Others say the stores would be too noisy or too close to residential areas. Some complaints are more legitimate than others, and most can be mitigated with a few changes to the company’s plan for the site in question.
But some objections are just examples of good old-fashioned, anti-competitive behavior. Owners of other gas stations are worried about what Sheetz might mean for them and other owners, and they support regulations to stop Sheetz from opening. One business owner declared simply, “I don’t want them competing with me,” in a comment published by Crain’s Detroit Business.
Local officials — and the business community — should reject these efforts. Building and zoning regulations should be about rational planning and protecting the public. Protecting some businesses from others is not a legitimate reason for zoning laws.
Michigan needs to be a competitive state — not a guild state. In the former, consumers benefit when businesses compete for their business. In the latter, existing favored businesses use the government to pull up the ladder behind them, stopping new companies from starting, growing and thriving.
– Jarrett Skorup, June 18, 2025
An Open Letter to the Michigan Center for Public Policy
We are writing in response to Jarrett Skorup’s June 18, 2025 article: “The illegitimate pushback against Sheetz in Michigan.”
We agree that competition is good for everyone – when it is fair, level and free of conflicts of interest. It was recently published in the Oakland Press that two Oakland County Commissioners are looking into ethics and financial disclosure policies including those related to Dave Woodward, chair of the commissioners, who is also a paid consultant for Sheetz. This individual holds tremendous sway with municipal leaders and decision makers throughout the county.
There is also much area buzz related to Sheetz hiring legal, architectural, engineering and other consultants across the region with ties to municipal decision makers in the cities where developments are being proposed. No one is reporting on that – but should.
This is anything but fair competition. It is a stacked deck.
We also can point to multiple examples, none of which have been reported, where similar development proposals by our constituents have been turned down one minute, with Sheetz being approved the next, despite city charters, zoning limits and master plans.
Crime is also a serious issue for the communities that allow Sheetz to operate. The company’s top leadership even testified in a congressional hearing in January 2024 that they attract more crime because of their 24-hour model: https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/116713/documents/HHRG-118-SM00-20240111-SD006.pdf Google “Sheetz” and “crime” and you will be alarmed.
It is also important to note that fierce opposition to Sheetz comes not only from the business community but equally from residents and concerned citizens living and working in the cities and towns where the developments are being proposed. They are deeply concerned about their local communities bringing mini truck stops into their backyards and typically pack planning and city council meetings to voice those concerns. It is why the cities of: Allen Park, Farmington Hills, Livonia (twice), Madison Heights, Oak Park, Rochester Hills, Southfield, Waterford, West Bloomfield and Wixom have already turned Sheetz away.
Ultimately, it is not about sour grapes or fear of competition. But when you really take a closer look (and someone needs to), something absolutely does not smell right.
– Nasir Siddiqui, President, Metro Detroit Petroleum Alliance
June 24, 2025