News

Ask Matt ... to crack the mystery of the Spinx (plus a new Sheetz)

Map shows a 2.65-acre parcel (red) that Sheetz plans to carve out of an 18-acre tract on Upward Road across from the new QT. [HENDERSON COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT]

By MATT MATTESON, Published: March 1, 2025

Q. Why all the new gas stations in the county?

I suspect it’s more than just gas. I understand the profit margin is much higher for food and beverages sold than gas. National chains have opened two new stations with gas pumps and a wide variety of prepared foods — Sheetz on Asheville Highway at I-26 and QT on Upward Road at the interstate highway. More are on the way. Sheetz’s request to carve out a 2.65-acre lot from an 18-acre tract owned by Quattlebaum Properties LLC comes before the county Technical Review Committee on Tuesday, March 4. Meanwhile, Greenville, South Carolina-based Spinx has plans for stations on Asheville Highway, Four Seasons Boulevard and Upward Road, and Sheetz joins the competition on Upward Road with a new store across from the new QT. Spinx is moving dirt on U.S. 25 North next to Auto Advantage. The company also has posted a “coming soon” sign on Upward Road across from Dari-O, and it just closed on a 4.7-acre tract across from Lowes on Seventh Avenue that it bought from AdventHealth. That parking lot, once used by Four Seasons Cinema, was flooded by Helene. It’s valued on the tax books at $2.6 million. Stewart Spinks launched his gas station chain in 1972 and now counts 80 locations including market stores. I am told they have great fried chicken. You can call them gas stations but more and more they feature their own fast-food counters with everything from milkshakes to salads, soup, subs, burgers and fries.

Q. Looks like site prep is under way at that large piece of property on Upward Road behind the Marathon station and Dunkin Donuts. What’s happening?

This is related to the first question. Part of the site is being purchased by Sheetz. L&S site contractor has been cleaning up the 33-acre site and making repairs to a large retention pond that suffered minor damage from Hurricane Helene. We talked to four commercial real estate brokers and none knew of a change of hands or major new tenant. (There’s no evidence, either, that the site is going to be home to our own Target; the commercial real estate boys say it’s much too close to the one on Airport Road to make business sense.) We reached out but got no callbacks from listing agent Mark White or property owner Bob Quattlebaum on the status of the property.

Q. Why did Dominion Energy change its name to Enbridge Gas?

It didn’t. Enbridge Inc. bought three gas distribution companies from  Dominion for $14 billion in a deal that closed last March. Natural gas customers remember PSNC, a Gastonia-based natural gas company with a half-million customers. In 2019, PSNC was acquired by Dominion Energy, a Virginia company that dealt mostly in electric power distribution. The ownership lasted five years. Enter Enbridge, a big fish in the natural gas business. The Calgary-based pipeline operator boasts 13,000 miles of natural gas pipelines and a workforce of 15,500. According to the Oil & Gas Journal, it is the largest gas utility in North America. Gotta keep an eye on those Canadians.

Q. How did former President Trump do in Henderson County against Vice President Kamala Harris?

In Henderson County Trump beat Harris by 14 percentage points while statewide he defeated her by only 3 percent. In the Nov. 5 gubernatorial election, Attorney General Josh Stein beat Republican Mark Robinson by a whopping 15 percent statewide but here the margin of victory was a surprisingly narrow 4 percent. Harris won only two counties in the mountains — Buncombe (62 percent) and Watauga, the home of App State, (52 percent). Henderson County remains reliably red, with 57 percent voting for Trump in 2024. Graham County in the far west of our state was an even deeper shade of red, handing Trump 81 percent of the vote.

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Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.