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The first Philly-area Sheetz is set to open next month across from a Wawa

And another is in the works at a former Rite Aid in Chester County.

A Sheetz is pictured in Berwick, Pa. in 2022. The chain has set an opening date for its first store located solidly in the Philadelphia area, which has long been Wawa territory.
A Sheetz is pictured in Berwick, Pa. in 2022. The chain has set an opening date for its first store located solidly in the Philadelphia area, which has long been Wawa territory.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

Sheetz’s encroachment into Wawa territory has an official ETA.

The Altoona-based convenience store chain is set to open its first Philadelphia-area store on Feb. 12 in Limerick Township, Montgomery County, according to Sheetz public affairs manager Nick Ruffner.

It will be located at 454 W. Ridge Pike, across the street from an existing Wawa.

Sheetz presented its site plans to Limerick’s board of supervisors about a year ago. The area was already zoned for this type of development, officials said at the time, and no other township permits were required.

“As Sheetz continues its expansion into communities near its existing footprint, we remain committed to being the best neighbor we can be and delivering the convenience, quality, and service Pennsylvania communities have come to expect from us for more than 70 years,” Ruffner said in a statement.

For decades, Sheetz opened its convenience-store gas stations in the western and central parts of the Commonwealth, while Wawa added locations in communities near its Delaware County headquarters.

Over the years, both companies expanded into other states: Wawa has more than 1,100 locations in 13 states and Washington, D.C., while Sheetz has more than 800 stores in seven states.

» READ MORE: Sheetz president and CEO dies, but the convenience store rivalry is eternal

But neither of the two chains would encroach on the other’s traditional strongholds in Pennsylvania. At least for a while.

That changed in 2024, when Wawa opened its first central Pennsylvania store. The location outside Harrisburg was within eyesight of a Sheetz.

By this October, Wawa announced it had opened its 10th central Pennsylvania store. At the time, the company said in a news release that it planned to add five to seven new locations in the region each year for the next five years — to “reach new Pennsylvania markets along the Susquehanna River.”

Wawa plans to open its first outposts in the State College area, near Penn State’s campus.

» READ MORE: Wawa and Sheetz tied at No. 2 for customer satisfaction in national survey

As of early January, Sheetz’s closest store to Philadelphia is just over the Chester County border in Morgantown.

But along with the forthcoming Limerick location, Sheetz has also expressed interest in opening at least one store in western Chester County.

This fall, Sheetz presented Caln Township officials with a sketch plan for a store on the site of a former Rite Aid on the 3800 block of Lincoln Highway in Thorndale, according to the township website.

Sheetz’s namesake, Stephen G. Sheetz, died Sunday due to complications from pneumonia. The former president, CEO, and board chairman was 77.

“Above all, Uncle Steve was the center of our family,” Sheetz president and CEO Travis Sheetz said in a statement. “We are so deeply grateful for his leadership, vision, and steadfast commitment to our employees, customers, and communities.”