Granite City Restaurant features a full Bar and Brewery and has a growing amount of Restaurant and Bar locations in Cedar Rapids, Clive, Creve Coeur, Davenport, Eagan, East Peoria, Fargo, Fort Wayne, Kansas City, Lincoln, Madison, Maple Grove, Olathe, Omaha, Orland Park, Rockford, Rogers, Roseville, Sioux Falls, St. Cloud, St. Louis Park, Toledo, West Wichita, Wichita, Indianapolis, and South Bend.

Land Purchased for the 5th Granite City Food & Brewery®
Construction in West Des Moines, Iowa to begin in February 2003

MINNEAPOLIS, February 27, 2003 - Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. (Nasdaq: GCFB) announced today that The Dunham Company has purchased a property in Cedar Rapids, Iowa which will be the site of the company's fifth Granite City Food & Brewery®.

The Dunham Company, headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has an exclusive agreement with Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. to develop Granite City restaurants. The Dunham Company will provide construction management and financing for this restaurant and will enter into a leasing arrangement regarding the building, with the company.

"Cedar Rapids is a larger market than those we are currently in, and it fits nicely with our expansion strategy," said Steve Wagenheim, Granite City Food & Brewery's President and CEO. "We are very pleased with this site in the Cedar Rapids market, and are looking forward to having another successful Midwest opening this fall."

The Cedar Rapids location is scheduled to be the second restaurant opening this year, as the company is planning a summer opening of a Granite City Food & Brewery restaurant in West Des Moines, Iowa. Wagenheim said the Company is currently negotiating for several additional sites in the Midwest.

Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. operates three casual dining restaurants featuring made-from-scratch food and handcrafted beers. Its broad menu offers traditional and regional foods served in generous portions at reasonable prices, affording guests an excellent value and great dining experience. Its first Granite City location, in St. Cloud, MN, opened in June 1999. The Company's second location opened in Sioux Falls, SD, in December 2000, and the third location opened in November 2001 in Fargo, ND.

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 real estate market, our ability to complete construction of additional restaurants at acceptable costs, and the risks and uncertainties described in the Company's Form 10-KSB Report for the year ended December 30, 2001 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACT:
Steven J. Wagenheim
President and Chief Executive Officer
(952) 525-2070 or (612) 751-3331