Popeyes, Fuddruckers, Dave and Busters, and Whole Foods have all confirmed they have no immediate plans to open in the Fargo area.

But Noodles & Company has announced a new franchise deal that will bring eight of the restaurants to the Dakotas.

Prairie Pasta Company Inc., based in Willmar, Minn., plans to open its first Noodles & Company in Fargo later this year. The company is slated to open seven more restaurants over the next five years in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Bismarck, Sioux Falls and Rapid City.

The Colorado-based restaurant opened in 1995 and operates more than 255 restaurants. The menu features American, Asian and Mediterranean dishes, including made-to-order noodles, soups, salads and sandwiches.

In a recent Trade Talk post about the eventual location of a SONIC Drive-In in Fargo, several readers asked about the possibility of Popeyes, Fuddruckers, Dave and Busters, Whole Foods, and Trader Joes coming here.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, which offers Louisiana-inspired recipes like fried chicken and red beans and rice, has no plans for a Fargo location.

One reader said he spoke with a Popeyes representative two years ago who said the company was considering the Fargo market. But Popeyes Corporate Communication recently said “at this time, there are no plans to open a Popeyes location in Fargo.”

The company, founded in 1972 in New Orleans, has 1,977 restaurants worldwide. The closest are in Minneapolis and the Minot, N.D., Air Force Base.

Fargo once had a Fuddruckers restaurant. It opened in 1987 at 1111 38th St S., in what is now the Timber Lodge Steakhouse, and closed the summer of 2000. 

Toni Niece, vice president of marketing for Luby’s Fuddruckers Restaurants, said “at this time we do not have any plans of opening up in the Fargo area.”

Fuddruckers, which offers burgers and steak house platters, has locations in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Middle East. There are Fuddruckers restaurants in Rapid City and Sioux Falls, S.D., and Bloomington, Minn.

Dave and Busters, a full-service restaurant, bar, and video arcade chain with more than 55 locations, has no immediate plans for Fargo, according to a company spokesman. The nearest Dave and Busters is in Maple Grove, Minn.

Whole Foods Market, founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, is a natural and organic food retailer with more than 300 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The company releases store opening plans on their earnings calls each month after a lease has been signed. Jen Marshall, a company spokeswoman, said she has not heard any mention of a Fargo store.

Whole Foods has a location in Minneapolis and stores in development in Edina and Minnetonka, Minn.

In a Forum story from November, 2009, about an online effort to bring Trader Joe’s to Fargo, Forum reporter Sherri Richards reported that Jeff Schlossman, vice president of Goldmark Schlossman Commercial Real Estate Services Inc., said his company talked with Trader Joe’s and the company said it would open a store here in about five years.

Alison Mochizuki, a company spokeswoman, said Fargo is not in Trader Joe’s two-year plan.

Trader Joe’s is a gift and grocery store that lauds its quality products. The company is headquartered in California and has more than 350 U.S. locations. The closest is in Maple Grove, Minn.

The Facebook group, “Bring Trader Joe’s to Fargo!!,” has 2,540 members (as of this post). There is also a “Bring Trader Joe’s to Fargo” online petition with 2,189 signatures.

Fargo-Moorhead area residents will have to continue traveling to the Twin Cities for a taste of White Castle sliders steam grilled on a bed of onions.

The fast-food restaurant, with its signature burger, chicken, or fish sliders, is not planning a Fargo store anytime in the near future.

Of course White Castle frozen fair is available at Family Dollar, Nash Finch Co., and Walmart Supercenter.

In a recent Trade Talk post about the eventual location of a SONIC Drive-In in Fargo, several readers wondered about the possibility of White Castle coming here.

I contacted the corporate office and was told the company has planned all of its construction for 2011 and is now looking for sites for 2012 and beyond.

However, according to the company spokesperson, White Castle prides itself on growing slowly and is privately owned and operated. The company does not franchise or offer stock options and finances its expansion solely through retained earnings.

I’m told White Castle tends to operate within the existing Midwest and Northeast regions where its meat plants and bakeries are located. 

The company adds 10 to 15 new restaurants every year, but based on current expansion plans, it will be a few years before White Castle opens in another new market area, according to the spokesperson.  

According to its website, White Castle is the first fast-food hamburger chain, having opened its first restaurant in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. It’s the first to sell a million hamburgers, the first to sell a billion hamburgers, and the first to sell frozen fast food.

White Castle, based in Columbus, Ohio, owns and operates more than 400 White Castle restaurants in 11 states.