Two national food chains have made plans to add restaurants in Seymour.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen have announced plans to open locations on the city’s east side.

“We are currently working through the permitting phase in Seymour and hope to have a formal development timeline to announce in the coming months,” Seymour Freddy’s franchisee Duncan Savage said. He also is the franchisee for the new Freddy’s locations in Columbus and Franklin.

The restaurant will be located at the 2.07-acre site of the former Ponderosa Steakhouse and Acra Automotive Group at 1940 E. Tipton St.

It will have a 5,500-square-foot building that will house Freddy’s and one or two other businesses, leasing agent Ed Bonacker said. He said he has spoken with potential tenants but he did not disclose the names.

Bonacker said the space could be used for another restaurant or other retail businesses. He said the contractor is looking to break ground in 90 to 120 days.

Seymour Building Commissioner Jeremy Gray said the chain had not filed for state approval yet. Gray’s office would have to approve local permits following state approval.

Freddy’s was co-founded by brothers Bill and Randy Simon and business partner Scott Redler in 2002, and the three named the restaurant after the Simons’ father, Freddy Simon, a World War II veteran, according to its website.

The brothers found inspiration in the meals their father prepared for them, which include American-style steakburgers, hot dogs, chicken and various flavors and combinations of frozen custard.

The franchise opened its 300th location last month in Indianapolis.

Representatives from Popeyes could not be reached, but the chain, which has more than 2,600 locations in 40 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and 30 other countries, has filed an application for a project construction design release through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

It will be at the former site of the Russell Stover Candies store, which closed in January 2017.

The chain’s application lists it expects seven employees with a seating capacity of 60 in the 2,262-square-foot building at 1715 E. Tipton St.

The application lists Cambridge Franchise Holdings LLC of Memphis, Tennessee, as the owner. The group operates fast food chains in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The Seymour Board of Zoning Appeals will hear a request for a variance at the restaurant. The company requested a variance to eliminate the need for a sidewalk on each side of the building, which is what the city code requires.

There is a ditch on the north side of the structure, and the company does not want to encourage walking in that area. Officials with the board will hear the variance during a meeting April 24.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen was founded in 1972 in Arabi, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, and is an American multinational chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants, according to its website.