Granite City Food & Brewery® Reports 0.7% Increase in Revenue in Third Quarter 2013

Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. (OTCQB: GCFB), a casual dining restaurant group, today reported results for the third quarter ended October 1, 2013.

Highlights were as follows:

• Total restaurant sales increased 0.7% to $31.4 million for the third quarter of 2013 from $31.1 million in the third quarter of 2012
• Total restaurant sales increased 11.3% to $100.3 million for the first three quarters of 2013 from $90.1 million in the first three quarters of 2012
• Same store sales decreased 3.8% in the third quarter of 2013 over the third quarter of 2012
• Same store sales increased 0.4% in the first three quarters of 2013 over the first three quarters of 2012
• Company recorded approximately $6.1 million in Adjusted EBITDA in the first three quarters of 2013 compared to $5.4 million in the first three quarters of 2012

“This past quarter provided us with a number of challenges, both internally and externally,” commented Rob Doran, CEO. “During the third quarter we saw an overall softening of same-store-sales for the casual dining industry. This occurred shortly after we placed additional pressure on our field staff with a new menu roll-out. In general, the menu roll-out caused food and labor costs to increase as the kitchen executed new menu items and our servers spent additional time explaining new items to our guests and ensuring guest satisfaction. As a result, our sales and margins during the quarter fell below our internal expectations. The good news is that we believe we are now building back our margins to levels prior to the new menu roll-out as the restaurants and our guests become comfortable with the changes to our updated menu. However, a softer sales environment is expected to persist. Finally, we are very pleased to announce the opening of an additional prototype restaurant in Lyndhurst, Ohio. Although the sales figures are still very early, we are pleased with the opening and anticipate that this restaurant will be one of our stronger locations.”

Third Quarter 2013 Financial Results

Total revenue for third quarter 2013 increased by 0.7% to $31.4 million compared to $31.1 million for the third quarter of 2012. This increase was the result of two additional locations in operation in the third quarter of 2013 compared to that of 2012. Comparable restaurant revenue, which includes restaurants which we have operated for over 18 months, decreased 3.8%. Total cost of sales before occupancy was $23.9 million in the third quarter of 2013 or 76.1% of revenue compared to prior year third quarter cost of sales before occupancy of $23.5 million or 75.3% of revenue.

General and administrative expenses were $2.5 million or 7.8% of revenue for the third quarter of 2013 compared to $2.3 million or 7.4% of revenue for the third quarter of 2012. We believe that the benefit of restaurant, menu and food upgrades, and future restaurant unit growth will help to reduce general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue.

The net loss for the third quarter of 2013 was $1.7 million compared to a net loss of $0.9 million in the third quarter of 2012. Net loss per share available to common shareholders was $(0.23) and $(0.14) for the third quarters of 2013 and 2012, respectively. Net loss per share available to common shareholders in the third quarters of 2013 and 2012 included $(0.02) and $(0.03) attributable to a declared dividend on preferred stock, respectively. Weighted average shares outstanding in the third quarters of 2013 and 2012 were 8.2 million and 8.0 million, respectively.

Year-to-Date 2013 Financial Results

Total revenue for first three quarters 2013 increased by 11.3% to $100.3 million compared to $90.1 million for the first three quarters of 2012. This increase was the result of an additional fiscal week in the first quarter of 2013 and three additional locations in operation in the first three quarters of 2013 compared to that of 2012. Comparable restaurant revenue, which includes restaurants which we have operated for over 18 months, increased 0.4%. Total cost of sales before occupancy was $75.7 million in the first three quarters of 2013 or 75.5% of revenue compared to prior year first three quarters cost of sales before occupancy of $67.4 million or 74.8% of revenue.

General and administrative expenses were $7.6 million or 7.5% of revenue for the first three quarters of 2013 compared to $7.2 million or 8.0% of revenue for the first three quarters of 2012. This decrease in general and administrative expense as a percent of revenue was primarily attributable to the larger sales base associated with the additional fiscal week in the first quarter of 2013 and the additional restaurants in operation during the first three quarters of 2013.

The net loss for the first three quarters of 2013 was $2.7 million compared to a net loss of $3.1 million in the first three quarters of 2012. Net loss per share available to common shareholders was $(0.40) and $(0.64) for the first three quarters of 2013 and 2012, respectively. Net loss per share available to common shareholders in the first three quarters of 2013 and 2012 included $(0.07) and $(0.10) attributable to declared dividends on preferred stock, respectively. Weighted average shares outstanding in the first three quarters of 2013 and 2012 were 8.1 million and 5.9 million, respectively.

Outlook

Updated guidance for fiscal year 2013 is as follows:

• Net sales are anticipated to be between $125 million and $135 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $7.5 million and $8.5 million. As the reconciliation tables below indicate, we derive EBITDA by adding back the following items to operating loss: net interest expense, disposal and exit activities and any related gain or (loss), depreciation and amortization, acquisition costs, pre-opening costs, termination costs, property write-off costs, non cash compensation and any provision for income taxes. Since the company has many capital leases, we further reduce EBITDA for the difference between the fixed rent recorded and the actual amount paid for rent expense to generate Adjusted EBITDA.

Third Quarter 2013 Conference Call

The company will host a conference call to discuss its third quarter financial results on Tuesday, November 12, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time. The call may be accessed by calling 1-855-214-4066 and referencing code 21687602. A replay of the call will be available for 30 days and may be accessed by calling 1-800-633-8625 and entering replay code 21687602.

About Granite City

Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. develops and operates two casual dining concepts: Granite City Food & Brewery and Cadillac Ranch All American Bar & Grill. Granite City Food & Brewery is a polished casual American restaurant that features a great dining experience with affordable, high-quality menu items prepared from made-from-scratch recipes, served in generous portions. There is a brewery onsite, serving hand-crafted and micro brews. Granite City opened its first restaurant in 1999 and is expanding nationwide; there are currently 30 Granite City restaurants in 13 states. Cadillac Ranch restaurants feature freshly prepared, authentic, All-American cuisine in a fun, dynamic environment. Its patrons enjoy a warm, Rock N’ Roll inspired atmosphere, with plenty of room for friends, music and dancing. The Cadillac Ranch menu is diverse with offerings ranging from homemade meatloaf to pasta dishes, all freshly prepared using quality ingredients. The Company purchased its first Cadillac Ranch in November 2011 and has since purchased five additional Cadillac Ranch restaurants along with its intellectual property. The Company currently operates six Cadillac Ranch restaurants in five states. Additional information about Granite City Food & Brewery can be found at www.gcfb.com.

Forward-Looking Statements, Non-GAAP Financial Measurements and Adjusted Financial Measures

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, our ability to continue funding our operations and meet our debt service obligations, and the risks and uncertainties described in the Cautionary Statement filed as Exhibit 99 to our Quarterly Report on 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 17, 2013.

Additionally, this press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, including references to restaurant-level IBO, company-wide EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. As compared to the nearest GAAP measurement for our company, restaurant-level IBO represents revenue less cost of food, beverage, retail, labor and direct restaurant operating expenses. We use restaurant-level IBO and restaurant-level IBO as a percentage of revenue as internal measurements of restaurant-level operating performance. Restaurant-level IBO as we define it may not be comparable to similar measurements used by other companies and is not a measure of performance or liquidity presented in accordance with GAAP. We believe that restaurant-level IBO is an important component of our financial results because it is a widely used measurement within the restaurant industry to evaluate restaurant-level productivity, efficiency, and performance. We use restaurant-level IBO as a means of evaluating our restaurants’ financial performance compared with our competitors. As compared to the nearest GAAP measurement for our company, company-wide EBITDA represents operating income (loss) with the add-back of depreciation and amortization, net loss (gain) on disposal of assets and exit or disposal costs. We use company-wide EBITDA as a way to measure our overall internal operational performance without restaurant closings and as a means of evaluating our financial performance compared with our competitors. As compared to the nearest GAAP measurement for our company, adjusted EBITDA represents operating income (loss) with the add-back of net interest expense, disposal and exit activities and any related gain or (loss), depreciation and amortization, acquisition costs, pre-opening costs, termination costs, property write-off costs, non cash compensation and any provision for income taxes, and further adjusts for the difference between the amount of fixed rent recorded on the statements of operations and the actual amount paid for rent expense.We use adjusted EBITDA as a way to measure our overall internal operational performance without restaurant openings and/or closings and as a means of evaluating our restaurants’ financial performance compared with our competitors. These non-GAAP measurements should not be used as substitutes for net loss, net cash provided by or used in operations or other financial data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Schedules of reconciliations of restaurant-level IBO, company-wide EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter and first three quarters of 2013 and 2012 are provided herein.

Finally, in order to provide supplemental results of operations information, we have included certain adjusted financial measures. In particular, we have presented various financial metrics for comparable restaurants, which are those restaurants that we have operated for more than 18 months, and our new restaurants which are those restaurants that we have operated for 18 months or less. The contributions of these groups of restaurants to company-wide performance are set forth herein.