BELLEFONTE — A big name in convenience stores may be coming to Centre County, as York-based Rutter’s has submitted plans for a store on the Benner Pike.
The plans are to build a 10,000-square-foot store with 14 auto fueling stations and five tractor-trailer diesel fueling stations directly across from the county prison on the west side of Benner Pike, at its intersection with Rishel Hill Road.
Centre County director of planning Bob Jacobs said the plans are being reviewed by the county and they will potentially be approved in January.
Project manager Tony Fruchtl, from Penn Terra Engineering, the civil engineers for the project, said the layout looks similar to a typical Rutter’s store. He said he believes the plan is to start construction this summer and that a project like this should take six to eight months to complete.
Rutter’s has also applied for a liquor license that would allow it to sell beer and wine at the location, said Jacobs, similar to many Sheetz convenience store in the area.
The plans also include a tractor-trailer scale at the location. The plans show no driveway entrances to the store from Benner Pike, but there may be entrances on Rishel Hill Road and Venture Drive, according to Chris Schnure from the county planning office.
Rutter’s touts itself as the oldest vertically integrated food company in the country. The Rutter family has a farming history that dates back 270 years. The company started into convenience stores in 1968 and now has more than 60 locations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. This would be the company’s first location in Centre County.
The stores offer a variety of food choices and a large coffee bar. The company was rated No. 5 on the list of the top 250 privately held companies in central Pennsylvania by the Central Penn Business Journal in 2018.
