InForum: Fryn' Pan to reopen Monday in new downtown Fargo building

The popular restaurant is nearing the finish line on a quick move north across the Gateway Center parking lot into the Gateway North building at 310 Main Ave.

Written By: Helmut Schmidt | 7:10 am, Jul. 16, 2021

Fryn’ Pan co-owner Justin Bovee said Thursday, July 15, 2021, that customers will like the restaurant’s new location, with it’s new color scheme and modern look. The Fryn’ Pan reopens in the Gateway North building at 310 Main Ave., Fargo, on Monday, July 19. Helmut Schmidt/The Forum

FARGO – The Fryn’ Pan is on track to fire up its kitchen and throw open its doors again at 6 a.m. Monday, July 19, in its new location, General Manager Pat Jones said.

The downtown eatery will reopen in the Gateway North building, being finished now by EPIC Companies at 310 Main Ave., Jones confirmed Thursday, July 15.

Construction workers were buzzing throughout the new restaurant space Thursday, finishing up electrical and plumbing connections.

Co-owner Justin Bovee promised the restaurant will be beautiful when it’s finished.

“Just the new color scheme, the more modern look,” Bovee said.

There will be a patio on the Main Avenue side of the restaurant, though it may not be completed in time for the opening. Bovee said the outdoor addition to the Fryn’ Pan was an easy decision.

“Hey, we’re downtown, the opportunity is there to have one (a patio),” Bovee said. “Let’s give it a try.”

Moving the Fryn’ Pan from its long-time home at 300 Main Ave. across the parking lot to its new digs started Sunday, July 11, and has progressed quickly.

General Manager Pat Jones was overseeing the move-out from the space in the old strip mall.

“We’re deep into it,” Jones said. “It’s a lot to do.”

Workers were removing furniture and equipment from the old Fryn’ Pan restaurant building at 300 Main Ave., in downtown Fargo’s Gateway Center, on Thursday, July 15, 2021. The restaurant will reopen in the nearby Gateway North building at 310 Main Ave. on Monday, July 19. Once the restaurant is moved, the old strip mall will be demolished to make room for another building. (Helmut Schmidt/The Forum)

He’s confident that the restaurant will open on time Monday.

“The kitchen is all brand new” and will be much more efficient, Jones said.

The new Fryn’ Pan’s entrance is on the south side of the building. The eatery will take up about 5,100 square feet on the ground floor of Gateway North. The space is built to accommodate 182 people, which is smaller than the old location, but Jones said it will be a more efficient layout. There’s a large, new salad bar and there will be baked goods, too.

The restaurant has obtained a city beer license, but is still waiting on the state beer license, so beer may not be available initially, Bovee said.

“The Fryn’ Pan is such a household name to the community over the years and to be able to freshen up an underutilized area and keep such a great tenant, we are ecstatic for them to have a new space,” said McKenzy Olson, a spokeswoman for EPIC.

Work continued Thursday, July 15, 2021, on the Gateway North building at 310 Main Ave., in downtown Fargo. The Fryn’ Pan restaurant is now moving into the building and will reopen Monday, July 19. Helmut Schmidt/The Forum

The $12 million five-story Gateway North building has 52 apartments (studio, one- and two-bedroom, and two-story two bedroom). It has underground parking, a community room, fitness room and a patio. There is also more than 13,000 square feet of space for commercial and retail tenants. Olson said apartment tenants will start moving in about October.

“We are super excited to finish up the first phase Gateway by EPIC and be ‘in good company’ in downtown Fargo amongst the multiple exciting businesses that have made it so great,” Olson said.

Razing of what is left of the Gateway Center strip mall will begin after the Fryn’ Pan restaurant is moved into Gateway North.

Construction on the second phase of EPIC’s Gateway development, The Arch, will begin once the old strip mall has been demolished and removed.

The Arch will be a $31 million, seven-story mixed-use building. It will overlook the Red River, and encompass 188,310 square feet of space, including 60,310 square feet of underground and main floor parking.

About 20,000 square feet of the ground floor space will be commercial and office space, with another 108,000 square feet above built as one-, two- or three-bedroom condominiums.

Completion of The Arch is expected in late 2022 or early 2023.

There are also Fryn’ Pan restaurants in Moorhead; Wahpeton, N.D.; and Sioux Falls and Yankton, S.D.

Other projects in the region that EPIC has in the works:

ENVY at The Lights (It is the third phase of this West Fargo project. It is seven stories high with condominiums.)
EOLA by EPIC (Anderson Park in south Fargo) Construction on the complex, which will include multiple multi-use buildings, is planned to start in September.
The TAB42 commercial building (42nd Street South, Fargo).
Blu on Broadway, a mixed-use affordable housing project in Minot, N.D.
The Beacon by EPIC (downtown Grand Forks), in the former Townhouse Hotel site.