Sheetz (Brookville, PA)
300 W. Main StreetMy drive home from New York City was an eat in the car trip.
I had stopped at a Wawa in New Jersey for breakfast. By the time lunch rolled around, I decided to fill up my tank again and grab something to eat.
I wasn’t going to stop at just any gas station though. I was looking for a Sheetz. It’s another gas station chain I had never grabbed food from and another one that I heard people go crazy for.
The drive on I-80 through Pennsylvania is long and kind of boring. There really isn’t much you pass. It’s a lot of hills through the Poconos and some pretty scenery for a while but eventually, it all just starts to look the same and you don’t pass through any big cities to break up the monotony.
I made it to Brookville, PA before I decided to pull off. That’s on the west side of the state just north of Punxsutawney. I saw the highway sign for the gas station I was looking for and I just needed to get out of the car and stretch a little bit.
The Sheetz in Brookville is just south of I-80 on West Main Street with the intersection of Allegheny Boulevard. The exit is on the west edge of the city so you’re really not going in to town. There are some other chain fast food places in the area but that’s about it. The gas station takes up a large portion of the corner on the northwest side of the road.
Sheetz is a Pennsylvania based chain with close to 700 locations in 6 states. It was just announced not to long ago Sheetz is moving in to Michigan. There’s a store planned to open in Detroit in 2025.
Sheetz is another one of those convenience stores that if you’re familiar with Speedway’s Speedy Cafe’s in Michigan, this will all look very familiar to you.
Ordering is done a kiosk next to the kitchen. The store I stopped in wasn’t very big and there were actually quite a few people ordering lunch at the same time I was.
The menu is pretty large and there’s a lot to choose from. I was looking for things that would be easy to eat in the car so I ordered a Ultimate Burger with a side of fries and an order of the Hotzarella sticks. The kiosk spits out a receipt that you take to the cash register to pay. I also grabbed a Mt Dew which brought my meal to a total of just under $17.
I actually did stop at a Sheetz on my way to New York in Youngstown, OH but I wasn’t hungry then. I just needed gas. The thing I noticed about both places that makes them different from Wawa and Speedway is that they have a dining room. If you are one of those people that likes to sit down and enjoy a meal, there’s a place to sit and eat.
It took a few minutes for my order number to be called and when it did, I headed back to the car. I still had 6 more hours to go.
I started with the fries because they are the thing that gets cold the fastest. The fries are simple. Skin on frozen fries. The side order isn’t very big and that was fine. They’re probably better with something to dip them in but as far as fast food type fries, they’re acceptable.
The Hotzarella sticks were next. These are typical mozzarella sticks but with a supposedly spicy breading. They had a little bit of a spice to them but they were not hot. They were delicious but I was expecting a little more fire. There are options for dipping sauce…including adding a Nashville hot…but I knew I was eating in the car and passed on that. I still really liked these mozz sticks.
For the burger, I did the make your own option. There are some really interesting customizations here. Instead of bread, you can get your burger on bagels, croissants or even a waffle. I did none of those and kept it really simple. Burger with bacon, cheese and pickles.
The burger didn’t look very apptizing when I opened it up but that’s probably because it didn’t appear to be grilled. It had the color of a baked or microwaved burger. It tasted pretty good though. I don’t expect a lot from gas station cheese burgers so getting one that was good was a welcome surprise. The paleness of the burger was off putting at first but I got over that pretty quickly after taking a bite.
My comparison for places like Sheetz or Wawa has always been Speedway because that’s what we have here in Southwest Michigan. Sheetz has a much bigger menu than the Speedy Cafe’s do. The food was good because they actually have deep fryers. Speedway bakes their “fried” foods so that was a welcome addition.
I love these order from a kiosk convenience store meals. They’re quick, cheap, and pretty tasty. I’d much rather go to a place like this than a fast food joint. I can get gas, a bottle of Pepsi and a better meal.
SW Michigan Dining 