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.

Annual Revenues Increase 19.0% at Granite City Food & Brewery
Comparable Restaurant Sales Increase 3.8% Annually as Expansion Continues

MINNEAPOLIS, March 29, 2004 - Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. (Nasdaq: GCFB) today reported the results of operations for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 28, 2003. Revenues for fiscal year 2003 increased to approximately $14.6 million or 19% over fiscal year 2002. Comparable sales increased 3.8% for the year. Restaurants are included in this statistical measure after 18 months of operations.

For the quarter ended December 28, 2003, total revenue was $4,854,646 compared to $2,850,296 for the fourth quarter of 2002. The Company reported a net loss of ($665,363), or ($0.23) per share for the quarter ended December 28, 2003, compared to a net loss of ($168,533), or ($0.06) per share for the fourth quarter of 2002. The primary reasons for the increased loss are the pre-opening expenses incurred with new restaurant openings and the addition of personnel at the corporate level in order to prepare for additional expansion.

For fiscal year 2003, total revenue was $14,622,717 compared to $12,286,749 in fiscal year 2002. The Company reported a net loss of ($1,502,584), or ($0.56) per share for the year ended December 28, 2003 compared to a net loss of ($216,217), or ($0.08) per share in fiscal year 2002.

"It is very rewarding to see the growth to our top line from not only our new units, but also from our veteran units which continue to be high performers," said Steve Wagenheim, Granite City Food & Brewery's President and CEO. "After we open our Lincoln and Maple Grove stores in the second quarter of this year we expect to see growth to our bottom line and cash flow as we anticipate having no pre-opening expenses during the second half of the year." Wagenheim added, "The expenses we incurred in 2003 to build our core management team and to facilitate our continued expansion are now paying off."

Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. currently operates six Granite City Food & Brewery 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. Subsequently, the Company opened restaurants in Sioux Falls, SD, Fargo, ND, West Des Moines, IA, Cedar Rapids, IA and Davenport, IA. 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 units, the ability to obtain financing for, and complete construction of, additional restaurants at acceptable costs, our ability to implement and execute Fermentus Interruptus and the risks and uncertainties described in the Company's Form 10-KSB Report for the year ended December 28, 2003 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

-financial statements follow

GRANITE CITY FOOD & BREWERY LTD. CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

	Thirteen Weeks Ended			Year Ended
	December 29, 2002 (unaudited)	December 28, 2003 (unaudited)		December 29, 2002 (audited)	December 28, 2003 (audited)
Restaurant Revenues	$2,850,296	$4,854,646		$12,286,749	$14,622,717
Cost of Sales:
Food, beverage, & retail	808,989	1,464,631		3,520,107	4,287,120
Labor	994,566	1,649,881		4,192,970	4,970,829
Direct and Occupancy	657,079	1,040,320		2,612,019	3,162,007
Total Cost of Sales	2,460,634	4,154,832		10,325,096	12,419,956
Pre-opening	-	288,684		-	559,413
General & Administrative	250,874	683,025		924,652	1,839,281
Depreciation & amortization	192,478	221,492		766,851	817,963
Operating Income (loss)	(53,690)	(493,387)		270,150	(1,013,896)
Interest:
Income	11,848	9,320		12,335	71,468
Expense	(126,690)	(181,296)		(531,056)	(560,156)
Other Income, Net	(1)	-		32,354	-
Net Other Expenses	(114,843)	(171,976)		(486,367)	(488,688)
Net loss	($168,533)	($665,363)		($216,217)	($1,502,584)
Loss per common share, basic and diluted	($0.06)	($0.23)		($0.08)	($0.56)
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted	3,825,133	4,030,123		3,815,364	3,923,560

BALANCE SHEET DATA DECEMBER 28, 2003:

Current Assets	$1,762,993
Total assets	17,322,167
Current liabilities	2,238,905
Total liabilities	10,998,009
Shareholders' equity	10,998,009

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