Land clearing begins for new Sheetz at NC 54, Jim Minor Road

Land clearing has started on the northeast corner of North Jim Minor Road and NC 54, turning a long-contested Swepsonville proposal into the first visible work for a new Sheetz store at one of the town’s main edges. The project is more than a convenience store permit: it is a three-acre commercial shift that could change traffic patterns, add pressure on utilities, and sharpen competition for gas stations and convenience stores already serving the west side of Alamance County.

The store will be Sheetz’s fifth location in Alamance County and the chain’s farthest local site from the interstate, a notable change for a company whose county stores have mostly clustered near I-85/40. Sheetz, Inc. already operated four gas station and convenience stores in the county when Swepsonville leaders approved the project last fall, making the new site part of a steady regional expansion by a family-owned company founded in 1952 that now operates more than 800 stores across seven states.

Swepsonville’s town council signed off on annexation, rezoning and a $100,000 town contribution to help extend sewer lines to the property. The council voted 5-0 on Nov. 27, 2025, with Mayor Henry Carrouth, Mayor Pro Tem Drew Sharpe and councilmen John Andrews, Travis Sapp and Wilbur Suggs all in favor. That vote followed a Nov. 18 public hearing that drew a large crowd, though only nine speakers were allowed to address the council because they had signed up in advance.

Town leaders said the sewer extension could open the door to additional development east of NC 54, and they said the costs could eventually be recovered through system development fees. Brad Bullis, the town administrator, said the council had also discussed economic-development incentives tied to utility lines during closed sessions in July, August, September and October 2025 as the project moved through the town process.

For Swepsonville, the clearing marks the point where a zoning case becomes site work. For the businesses already along NC 54 and nearby roads, it signals a new competitor moving in with a larger footprint than a typical corner store. And for the corridor east of town, it suggests that the sewer line built for Sheetz may end up shaping what gets built next.