A big new entrant to Michigan has plans for former Ginopolis restaurant site

A company looking to plant its flag in Michigan may breathe life into the former site of a once-famous restaurant.

The Sheetz chain is planning a gas station and convenience store in Farmington Hills on the site where Ginopolis Restaurant sat. Sheetz officials at a June 20 Farmington Hills Planning Commission meeting proposed building a 6,100-square-foot convenience store and 12-pump gas station on the land at 12 Mile and Middlebelt roads. The Farmington Hills Sheetz would be open 24 hours a day and feature a drive-thru.

The Farmington Hills Planning Commission at the June 20 meeting unanimously approved a recommended for planned unit development status for the nearly 4-acre property at 27815 Middlebelt Road. The plans now must be approved by the City Council.

Ginopolis Restaurant closed in 2019 after 37 years in business in the location. Ginopolis moved to Brighton in 2019 and rebranded a couple of times before closing for good in July 2023. The restaurant at its peak was one of the best-known in metro Detroit, laying claim to hosting an array of celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Muhammad Ali when they were in town.

 

City officials on Thursday told Crain’s it is unknown if the demolition of the Ginopolis building is a part of the project.

Sheetz public relations manager Nick Ruffner in a statement to Crain’s said the company is excited about the approval.

“Through this approach, Sheetz will be able to incorporate open space, preserve existing mature trees and provide robust screening and landscaping around the site,” Ruffner said. “Sheetz will be submitting formal plans to Farmington Hills in the near future and looks forward to working with local officials to provide residents a first-of-its-kind, family-friendly restaurant and convenience store in the Farmington Hills community.”

The move continues Sheetz’s quest to enter the Michigan market. The Altoona, Pennsylvania-based company plans to open 50 to 60 locations in Southeast Michigan, Sheetz president and CEO Travis Sheetz told Crain’s in February.

Work on the company’s first Michigan store, planned for a site at 33380 Wick Road in Romulus, started in March. Travis Sheetz told Crain’s he envisions a rollout similar to what has taken place in Columbus, Ohio, where the first store opened about three years ago and more than 30 others have followed.

Sheetz in more than 70 years in business has amassed more than 700 locations. The company has had troubles gaining support in some Michigan municipalities, though.

In Livonia, the zoning board early this year recommended City Council not approve a rezoning request, Hometown Life reported. The Fraser planning commission axed a plan for a new site at 14 Mile and Utica roads, according to The Oakland Press, which also reported that Sheetz put the brakes on its proposed locations in Rochester Hills at Rochester Road and South Boulevard, and Waterford Township on Dixie Highway near Sashabaw Road.

Family-owned Sheetz offers gas, coffee and made-to-order sandwiches and salads, ordered through touch-screen technology. Travis Sheetz told Crain’s Sheetz is an $11 billion company. Forbes lists the company’s 2023 revenue at $14 billion, up from $11.7 billion reported in 2022.

The typical Sheetz location has 30-35 employees, with starting pay at $15 or $16 an hour.

Sheetz has 715 stores in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland and around 25,000 employees. All locations are open 24/7, 365 days a year. Sheetz offers a tuition reimbursement program for employees who work at least 16 hours a week.

The company donates about 1 million pounds of food per year to local food banks. The company donated $25,000 to Oak Park-based food bank Forgotten Harvest. Forgotten Harvest serves Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.

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