Granite City Brewery Beers Now Available Minnesota Wild NHL Hockey Games

Granite City Food & Brewery today announced the launch of beer sales in venues outside of its 26 Midwest restaurants. To date, Granite City’s patented beer processing system has been used only in the sale of beer to its restaurant patrons, but with this announcement, the company has begun selling its beer at the Xcel Center, home of the Minnesota Wild NHL Hockey team. While the Xcel Center is the first major arena to carry Granite City beers, the company intends to expand its beer offering to venues within the markets Granite City restaurants are located. Granite City has recently promoted Richard Witzke to head up this effort. Mr. Witzke most recently has been employed as the Managing Partner at the Granite City South Bend location. He has extensive restaurant experience and has a strong record of identifying opportunities to promote new business and enhance an organization’s image.

“We are very excited about expanding our beer offering outside of our restaurants, including selling our beers in major and minor league stadium venues, as well as other entertainment complexes”

“We are very excited about expanding our beer offering outside of our restaurants, including selling our beers in major and minor league stadium venues, as well as other entertainment complexes,” said Steve Wagenheim, President and Founder of Granite City. “We see this as a great branding strategy for our restaurants with the opportunity to grow the beer revenue stream for the company. We feel Rick is the right person to head up this effort and grow our venue beer sales.”

Granite City has been consistently recognized as one of the top 10 Brewpubs Groups in the United States coming it at #6 in the most recent data issued by the Brewer’s Association out of Boulder, Colorado. In 2010, Granite City sold nearly 600,000 gallons of its fine handcrafted beers to its many happy restaurant patrons.

“Wirtz Beverage Minnesota Beer Inc. is excited to partner with Granite City in offering high quality craft beer to the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro area,” said Scott Cairncross, Vice President of Wirtz Beverage Minnesota. “We look forward to growing our relationship with Granite City in addition to providing quality beers to Granite City consumers.”

“We’re proud that our handcrafted beers are being recognized as a great beer and that our brand is becoming transferable to other venues,” said Steve Wagenheim. “Whether a consumer is dining at one of our restaurants or spending a night out at a sporting event, fans of the Granite City brand can now enjoy a great handcrafted beer whenever the craving strikes.”

About Granite City Food & Brewery

Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. is a Modern American upscale casual restaurant chain that operates 26 restaurants in 11 states. The menu features affordable yet high quality family favorite menu items prepared from made-from-scratch recipes and served in generous portions. The sophisticated yet unpretentious restaurants, proprietary food and beverage products, attractive price points and high service standards combine for a great dining experience. Granite City opened its first restaurant in St. Cloud, Minnesota in 1999. For more information about Granite City, visit www.gcfb.com.