As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 19, 2009

Registration No. 333-          

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-8

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE

SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

 

5402 Parkdale Drive, Suite 101

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55416

(Address, including Zip Code, of Principal Executive Offices)

 

 

GRANITE CITY FOOD & BREWERY LTD.

AMENDED AND RESTATED EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

(Full Title of the Plan)

 

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company.  See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.                   (Check one):

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

Title of Each Class of Securities To Be Registered		Amount To Be Registered (1)		Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Share (2)			Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price			Amount of Registration Fee
Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan Common stock (par value $0.01 per share)		80,000		$	0.28		$	22,400		$	1.25

(1)          This registration statement also covers any additional shares of common stock which become issuable under the Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan by reason of any stock dividend, stock split, recapitalization or other similar transaction effected without the receipt of consideration which results in an increase in the number of outstanding shares of common stock.

(2)          Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee under Rule 457(h) of the Securities Act and based upon the average of the high and low sale prices for such stock on March 16, 2009, as reported by the NASDAQ Global Market.

 

 

 

REGISTRATION OF ADDITIONAL SHARES

 

This Registration Statement is being filed by Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. (the “Company”) pursuant to General Instruction E to the Form S-8 Registration Statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to register an additional 80,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), which will be issued pursuant to the Company’s Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan, which was formerly known as the 2002 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”).  A total of 2,649,743 shares of Common Stock issuable under the Plan have been previously registered pursuant to the Company’s Form S-8 Registration Statements filed with the SEC on September 20, 2002 (File No. 333-99877), April 30, 2003 (File No. 333-104861), April 20, 2004 (File No. 333-114619), November 12, 2004 (File No. 333-120434), March 24, 2005 (File No. 333-123553), March 27, 2006 (File No. 333-132741); May 4, 2007 (File No. 333-142618), and March 10, 2008 (File No. 333-149615).

 

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PART II

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

Item 3.         Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

 

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we file with them, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to documents we file with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this registration statement. Information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings we will make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act until all of the shares covered by this registration statement have been sold or deregistered:

 

·                                          Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2008;

 

·                                          Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on February 12, 2009 and February 26, 2009; and

 

·                                          Description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A/A (File No. 000-29643) filed on December 22, 2005, as the same may be amended from time to time.

 

Item 4.         Description of Securities.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 5.         Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 6.         Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

 

We are governed by Minnesota Statutes Chapter 302A.  Minnesota Statutes Section 302A.521 provides that a corporation shall indemnify any person made or threatened to be made a party to any proceeding by reason of the former or present official capacity of such person against judgments, penalties, fines, including, without limitation, excise taxes assessed against such person with respect to an employee benefit plan, settlements and reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees and disbursements, incurred by such person in connection with the proceeding, if, with respect to the acts or omissions of such person complained of in the proceeding, such person has not been indemnified by another organization or employee benefit plan for the same expenses with respect to the same acts or omissions; acted in good faith; received no improper personal benefit and Section 302A.255, if applicable, has been satisfied; in the case of a criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the conduct was unlawful; and in the case of acts or omissions by persons in their official capacity for the corporation, reasonably believed that the conduct was in the best interests of the corporation, or in the case of acts or omissions by persons in their capacity for other organizations, reasonably believed that the conduct was not opposed to the best interests of the corporation.

 

As permitted by Section 302A.251 of the Minnesota Statutes, Article 9 of our Articles of Incorporation provides that we shall indemnify and may, in the discretion of our board of directors, insure our current and former directors, officers and employees in the manner and to the fullest extent permitted by law.  Section 6.1 of our By-laws provides that we shall indemnify, in accordance with the terms and conditions of Section 302A.521 of the Minnesota Statutes, the following persons:  (a) officers and former

 

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officers; (b) directors and former directors; (c) members and former members of committees appointed or designated by the board of directors; and (d) employees and former employees.

 

Item 7.         Exemption From Registration Claimed.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 8.         Exhibits.

 

See “Exhibit Index.”

 

Item 9.         Undertakings.

 

(a)                                  The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

 

(1)                                  To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

(i)                                     To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

 

(ii)                                  To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

 

(iii)                               To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

 

Provided, however, That:

 

(A)                              Paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-8 (§ 239.16b of this chapter), and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m or 78o(d)) that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement; and

 

(B)                                Paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3 (§239.13 of this chapter) or Form F-3 (§ 239.33 of this chapter) and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) (§ 230.424(b) of this chapter) that is part of the registration statement.

 

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(C)                                Provided further, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the registration statement is for an offering of asset-backed securities on Form S-1 (§ 239.13 of this chapter), and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment is provided pursuant to Item 1100(c) of Regulation AB (§ 229.1100(c)).

 

(2)                                  That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(3)                                  To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

(4)                                  If the registrant is a foreign private issuer, to file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include any financial statements required by Item 8.A. of Form 20-F at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Act need not be furnished, provided that the registrant includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (a)(4) and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to registration statements on Form F-3, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Act or Rule 3-19 of this chapter if such financial statements and information are contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the Form F-3.

 

(5)                                  That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

 

(i)                                     If the registrant is relying on Rule 430B (§ 230.430B of this chapter):

 

(A)                              Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) (§ 230.424(b)(3) of this chapter) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

 

(B)                                Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) (§ 230.424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) of this chapter) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) (§ 230.415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) of this chapter) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.  Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a

 

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purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date; or

 

(ii)                                  If the registrant is subject to Rule 430C (§ 230.430C of this chapter), each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A (§ 230.430A of this chapter), shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.

 

(6)                                  That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities:

 

The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

(i)                                     Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424 (§ 230.424 of this chapter);

 

(ii)                                  Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

 

(iii)                               The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

 

(iv)                              Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

 

(b)                                 The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(h)                                 Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers, and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.  In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer, or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director,

 

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officer, or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Minneapolis, State of Minnesota, on March 19, 2009.

 

	GRANITE CITY FOOD & BREWERY LTD.
	By	/s/ Steven J. Wagenheim
	Steven J. Wagenheim
	President and Chief Executive Officer

 

POWERS OF ATTORNEY

 

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Steven J. Wagenheim and James G. Gilbertson, and each of them, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full powers of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.

 

Signature		Title		Date
/s/ Steven J. Wagenheim		President, Chief Executive Officer and		March 19, 2009
Steven J. Wagenheim		Director (Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ James G. Gilbertson		Chief Financial Officer and Director		March 19, 2009
James G. Gilbertson		(Principal Financial Officer and
		Principal Accounting Officer)
/s/ Eugene E. McGowan		Chairman		March 19, 2009
Eugene E. McGowan
/s/ Arthur E. Pew III		Director		March 19, 2009
Arthur E. Pew III
/s/ Dermot F. Rowland		Director		March 19, 2009
Dermot F. Rowland
/s/ Bruce H. Senske		Director		March 19, 2009
Bruce H. Senske

 

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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
Number		Description
4.1		Articles of Incorporation of the Registrant, as amended (incorporated by reference to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB, filed on November 13, 2002 (File No. 000-29643)).
4.2		Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant (incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on May 4, 2007 (File No. 000-29643)).
4.3		Specimen common stock certificate (incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on September 20, 2002 (File No. 000-29643)).
5		Opinion of Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association.
10		Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan, effective October 28, 2008 (incorporated by reference to our Definitive Proxy Statement filed on November 6, 2008 (File No. 000-29643)).
23.1		Consent of Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association (filed as part of Exhibit 5).
23.2		Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
24		Powers of Attorney (included on Signatures page).