MINNEAPOLIS (RestaurantNewsRelease.com) Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. (NASDAQ: GCFB) today announced that its Board of Directors elected Milton D. Avery, Brian K. Gramm and Charles J. Hey to replace Todd W. Hanson, Eugene E. McGowan and Bruce H. Senske, who resigned from the Company’s board on June 18, 2010. The following is information concerning the new directors:
Milton D. Avery. Milton Avery has been co-owner and managing partner of Avery Brothers, LLC, a family-owned commercial and outdoor sign company in Sioux City, Iowa. He also serves as a board member of Mercy Hospital in Sioux City, Iowa.
Brian K. Gramm. Brian Gramm is the President of Milo Belle Consultants, LLC Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a finance and accounting professional services firm. He has also held positions in the finance area with FanBuzz, Inc., a division of ShopNBC, Inc., the Minnesota Wild and Hoff Jewelers.
Charles J. Hey. Charles Hey is the Chairman of the Board of School Bus, Inc., a transportation company. He was a former co-owner of the Jasper State Bank. Mr. Hey and Donald A. Dunham, Jr. are co-owners of DHW Leasing, L.L.C., which beneficially owns 63.4% of Granite City’s outstanding common stock.
Steven J. Wagenheim, Chief Executive Officer of Granite City, commented: “We are very appreciative of the service on the board of Eugene E. McGowan, Bruce H. Senske and Todd W. Hanson, and of their decision to resign now to allow the new directors to come on board in advance of our annual shareholder’s meeting. We look forward to our new directors’ service as Granite City continues to build its brand and solidify its position in the polished casual dining market. Milton Avery and Brian Gramm, who will join the board as independent directors, each offer a wealth of experience in business and I believe possess individual insights that will help the board and management as Granite City continues to build its business.”
About Granite City
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.
Certain statements made in this press release of a non-historical nature constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Such factors include, but are not limited to, changes in economic conditions; changes in consumer preferences or discretionary consumer spending; a significant change in the performance of any existing restaurants; the ability to maintain sufficient capital for continued operations; risks related to our ability to restructure leases, obtain rent reductions and obtain additional capital for operations; the risk that we may be required to reduce the scale of our operations if we cannot successfully restructure leases or raise additional capital; the risk that our stock may be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market; and the risks and uncertainties described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 22, 2010, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 10, 2010.