Sheetz, the Pennsylvania convenience store chain, opened its 36th store in North Carolina on Thursday, just off U.S. 64-264 in Wendell.
Customers began lining up at midnight to be among the first 50 in the door to receive $100 gift cards.
Sheetz is growing rapidly in North Carolina. The company opened a store in Benson last week and has eight more under construction. Of the 30 new stores Sheetz expects to open this year, 10 will be in North Carolina, said CEO Stan Sheetz, who attended Thursday's grand opening in Wendell.
Like Cary-based The Pantry and other convenience store chains, Sheetz is positioning itself as less a seller of gas and more a place to get premium food and drinks.
"We look at ourselves as more of a 'convenience restaurant' than a 'convenience store' or a gas station," Stan Sheetz said.
Sheetz plans to open a large distribution facility in the state by 2014 to serve its growing collection of stores. The company has been searching for a suitable site that would make it easy to reach the Triangle and the Triad, where most of its stores are concentrated.
Stan Sheetz said the company expects to choose a location by May.
Nicole's Studio & Art Gallery, a fixture on Person Street in Raleigh for 12 years, is moving - but not too far. The gallery, owned by Nicole Kennedy, is moving from 715 N. Person St. to 719 N. Person St. The new space offers a better opportunity to display the work of the two dozen artists whom the gallery represents, Kennedy said. It opens in early March.
Meanwhile in Cary, 14 artists have joined to open a new art studio and gallery in the Waverly Place shopping center at Tryon and Kildaire Farm roads. Waverly Artists Group is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. A grand opening is scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m. Feb. 24. The studio will include instruction in the major painting mediums, story building, sculpture, plein air painting, drawing, life drawing, jewelry and photography. Plans are to offer guest lectures, traveling exhibits and workshops.
Baskin-Robbins is re-opening its store in Cameron Village in Raleigh. To celebrate, Baskin-Robbins franchisees Paul and Jinny Kim are hosting a grand re-opening from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, and will show their commitment to the community with a donation to the Capital City Youth Sports Association. This will be the second Baskin-Robbins store that the Kims have opened in North Carolina. ... Applebee's has opened at 5340 McFarland Drive in Durham. Its grand opening celebration raised more than $3,000 for Duke Children's Hospital. ... Ashley Hendricks has opened Estatibles Furniture & Antiques, a consignment furniture and antiques store, next to Brier Creek Shopping Center at the former Ashby's/La-Z-Boy store. The store also offers refinishing, reupholstering and repainting on older pieces.
