Categories: TRAVEL

“Buy This, Don’t Buy This” at Sheetz

Buy This

First of all, sign up for a Sheetz rewards card. Of the many rewards cards from grocery and drug stores filling up my wallet, the Sheetz reward card is by far the most valuable. You get three cents off of the price of gas, discounts on their “Made-To-Order” food, and discounts and bonuses on regular products.

The best value by far on Sheetz’s M-T-O menu is two hot dogs for 99 cents. If you like hot dogs, you probably won’t find a better deal anywhere. For 99 cents you get two dogs loaded up with your choice of ketchup, mustard, mayo, onions, sauerkraut, and relish. Other condiments cost extra. I recommend the kraut, relish, and onions to get the best value for your meal. Periodically, Sheetz will have a promotion for reward card holders, three hot dogs for 99 cents, a colossal bargain. Many of the M-T-O food products and sides are not a good value; however, if you are a fan of jalapeño poppers then Sheetz has a deal for you. Their poppers are decent quality and much cheaper than you’d pay at a sit-down restaurant or fast food spot.

Healthy choices are a better value at Sheetz than most of their M-T-O menu. For 99 cents you can get two large apples or oranges, or three bananas (with your reward card). You won’t find a healthy snack that cheap at any other fast food location. The wide array of sliced fruit, cheese, yogurt, and veggie trays Sheetz offers are not as good a bargain as the whole fruits they offer, but are still competitively priced for healthy, pre-cut snacks.

Drink more water during the day without emptying your wallet. Sheetz sells a gallon of cold drinking water for $1.89. While that’s double the price of a gallon of water from a grocery store, compared to the cost of a cold 20 oz. of water bought at a convenience store or vending machine, or even a 1.5 liter bottle, you can see that it’s a good value for people on the go.

Don’t Buy This

I haven’t tried every item on the menu, but from what I have experienced, much of the Made-To-Order food is a poor value. Most of their breakfast products cost more than their counterpart products at McDonald’s or other fast food restaurants. Besides costing more, Sheetz breakfast products are far inferior to their competition. Most of the foods are made and frozen in a factory, then microwaved at the Sheetz. Don’t be fooled by the pretty pictures. The horrid, frozen breakfast burritos I got recently looked nothing like the picture, and cost four times as much as McDonald’s breakfast burritos, which are fresh made daily. I have often succumbed to the urge to grab a breakfast sandwich at Sheetz, when I am hungry and pressed for time. The food is almost always, under toasted, over microwaved, and sloppily put together.

Pre-made sandwiches from the cold case are a mixed bag. On one hand, they are very tasty and are somewhat better quality than pre-made sandwiches you’d find at other gas and convenience stores; however, like all sandwiches from convenience stores, they are mostly bread, and not a good nutritional value for the cost. I applaud Sheetz for having sandwiches made and ready for hungry, time-pressed travelers, but in my opinion, a bread-heavy sandwich is not a good value at $3.99.

All in all, if you are looking for healthier food and drink options on the go, Sheetz is a great place to save money. If you are hungry for fast food, you’ll get better value at your usual fast food stop.