Granite City Food & Brewery (#17) - Craft Beer in Saint Paul, Minnesota

📜 Short History:

Granite City Food & Brewery was founded in 1999 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The founders, Steve Wagenheim and Bill Burdick, aimed to create a casual dining restaurant that would offer a variety of high-quality, freshly brewed beers. The name "Granite City" was chosen in honor of St. Cloud, often referred to as "The Granite City" due to its rich history in granite production.

The concept of Granite City Food & Brewery was to create an upscale casual dining establishment with a microbrewery. The company differentiated itself by having an on-site brewery at each of its locations, which allowed it to deliver fresh and high-quality craft beer to its customers.

The company's patented brewing process, known as Fermentus Interruptus, made it unique in the industry. This process involves making the wort (the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer) at its central brewing facility and then shipping it to each restaurant. The fermentation process is then completed on-site at each location, ensuring the freshness of the beer.

Granite City Food & Brewery expanded rapidly in the early 2000s, opening multiple locations across the Midwest. However, the company faced financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy twice, once in 2004 and again in 2020. Despite these challenges, the company has continued to operate and as of 2021, it has locations in 13 states across the United States.

As for the specific Granite City Food & Brewery (#17), without additional information such as its location, it's challenging to provide a detailed history. The company's website or local news sources may have more specific information about this particular location.