Designs for a new Sheetz Café slated for the Corner won approval from the Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review Tuesday evening.
Sheetz Café will replace Eddy’s Tavern, which announced its closing in November.
The café will have made-to-order offerings, as well as snacks and drinks typical of a convenience store.
Although Sheetz is primarily known for its chain of 24-hour convenience store gas stations, this will be the company’s fourth such Sheetz Café. The cafés do not feature gas pumps and tend to be located near college campuses.
The café will feature outdoor seating and include new signage and awnings, although most branding will be inside of the building, according to documents presented to the BAR.
“We propose minimal modifications to the exterior of the former Eddy’s Tavern space on the Corner,” the company’s application reads.
BAR members critiqued the facade of the building, including the color of the awnings and whether the door should be aluminum or painted wood, but ultimately approved a certificate of appropriateness. Members suggested that the café continue to use a wooden door, but did not make the door material a requirement.
“In general, Sheetz has been very willing to reduce their corporate branding for this location and they are generally very flexible,” Natalie Feaver of architectural design firm Profile AI told the board in response to some of the comments.
Board member Emma Earnst, however, told the board in a message that she felt the exterior design deviated from the historic character of the building, writing it “conveys a false sense of history.”
Earnst was not present at the meeting. Board member Tim Mohr was also absent from the meeting.
Members at the meeting unanimously approved a certificate of appropriateness.
The first Sheetz Café opened in March 2015 near West Virginia University and was followed by locations in proximity to Pennsylvania State University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Sheetz will join Cohn’s On The Corner, CVS and the Corner Market as the fourth convenience store on the student-friendly strip.
“We really can’t say anything right now about a proposed opening date just because it’s so early in the process,” Sheetz spokesman Nick Ruffner said in an interview on Tuesday. “The team that’s involved in that is moving through the drawing and permitting stage.”
Correction: This article previously stated Sheetz Café would be the third convenience store on the Corner.
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