MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. (NASDAQ:GCFB - News) is proud to announce that it is building a new Granite City Food & Brewery® in Franklin, Tennessee.

The Company recently signed a long term lease with Drury Development Corporation to have the restaurant located adjacent to the new Drury hotel now being built in Franklin. The new restaurant will feature a contemporary upscale design recently developed by the Company, with the first opening in Troy, Michigan in April 2012.

The new Granite City Food & Brewery will be built in the Franklin/Cool Springs area of Tennessee, nine miles south of downtown Nashville. The restaurant will be located in the new Spring Creek Center, in the heart of the best and fastest growing suburban residential, retail and office market the in greater Nashville area. This area is the dominant regional retail draw in Tennessee with 5.3 million square feet of retail and restaurants. Opening in the summer of 2012, the restaurant’s newly designed interior will feature a wrap-around indoor/outdoor bar, an exposed kitchen, a central wood-fired pizza oven and our signature on-site brewery. In addition to more than 90 made from scratch menu items that have come to define Granite City, the menu will also feature regional favorites with locally sourced ingredients.

“We are excited to bring our concept to Tennessee. We combine the best attributes of an upscale dining experience with great, friendly service and attractively-priced, high quality hand-crafted food and beverages,” said Rob Doran, CEO. “Granite City restaurants have shown great success in a variety of cities and states, and we feel confident that the folks in Franklin will enjoy our unique and affordable offering, highlighted by our award winning beer.”

About the Company

In May 2011, Granite City sold $9.0 million of convertible preferred stock to Concept Development Partners (CDP) in partnership with Dallas-based private equity firm, CIC Partners, and entered into a $10.0 million credit facility with Fifth Third Bank. Of the new capital, $7.05 million was used to purchase a majority of the shares of common stock of Granite City’s then majority shareholder, DHW Leasing, L.L.C. The transaction brought the Company capital, new leadership, and several new, experienced board members, including Mike Rawlings, former President of Pizza Hut, a Founding Partner of CIC Partners, and current Mayor of Dallas, Lou Mucci, former CFO of BJ’s Restaurants, Michael Staenberg, President of THF Realty, Fouad Bashour, a Founding Partner of CIC Partners, and Rob Doran, former Executive Vice President of McDonalds’s. Rob Doran now serves as the Company’s CEO. Since CDP’s investment, the Company has been developing growth plans for existing Granite City restaurants as well as the construction of new Granite City restaurants, such as the recently announced Troy, Michigan location set to open in early 2012.

In late 2011, the Company acquired the assets of five Cadillac Ranch restaurants and related intellectual property, and Fifth Third Bank increased the Company’s credit facility by $12.0 million. The Company has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of a sixth Cadillac Ranch restaurant, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania location, subject to issuance of the required liquor license.

Granite City Food & Brewery is a modern American restaurant and brewery. Everything served at Granite City is made fresh on site using high quality ingredients, including Granite City’s award-winning signature line of craft beers. The extensive menu features moderately priced favorites served in generous portions. Our attractive price point, high service standards, and great food and beer combine for a memorable dining experience. Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. opened its first restaurant in St. Cloud, Minnesota (the “Granite City”) in 1999 and currently operates 26 Granite City restaurants in 11 states and 5 Cadillac Ranch restaurants in 4 states. Additional information about Granite City Food & Brewery can be found at the Company’s website (www.gcfb.net).

Forward-Looking Statements

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, our ability to maintain our NASDAQ listing, and the risks and uncertainties described in our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 17, 2011.

Lipscomb University will launch its first satellite campus in early 2012 as it opens a new facility in the Cool Springs area in Williamson County. University officials recently finalized a lease on a nearly 5,000-square-foot facility located at Cool Springs Boulevard and Aspen Grove Drive in the Thoroughbred Village III Professional Plaza.

The facility, which will be referred to as “Spark,” is designed to create an environment for innovative ideas in learning, business, faith and the community. A technology-rich facility, Spark will offer flexible space and innovative delivery systems for Lipscomb graduate, adult learning and certificate students as well as for corporations and community organizations in the area who are looking for a meeting venue that encourages fresh thinking.

“Spark represents the next generation of growth for the university as well as progressive thinking about education space. Spark is part of the university’s larger strategy to take innovative education and professional development opportunities to prospective participants in surrounding areas, offering them access to Lipscomb’s mission and purpose without them having to be physically located on our Nashville campus in Green Hills,” said Lipscomb President L. Randolph Lowry. “It will enable Lipscomb to expand its academic programming and offer a convenient option that echoes the programming on the Nashville campus to residents and businesses in the Williamson County area as well. This site allows us to promote and grow our existing programs into a new market and provide a much-needed service to this region.”

Last year, the College of Education began offering graduate education classes at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro and at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin and has tripled enrollment in those cohorts in just two years. The SPARK facility will be the first university-operated satellite campus.

Spark will be led by John Lowry, assistant professor of business at Lipscomb, who will manage the day-to-day operations of the facility. Lowry, who helped establish Lipscomb’s recent programs in executive education, corporate training and an MBA fellowship program, will also continue to work on special projects for Lipscomb’s College of Business.

“Our research has found that the demographics of Williamson County and the surrounding area make it one of the best counties in the country to offer graduate education. Fifty-two percent of people living in the vicinity of Spark have college degrees and tend to be younger and more affluent than average. Williamson County leaders are excited about Lipscomb University being a part of their community and partnering with us as we seek to serve its residents just as we have the Nashville community. This facility also benefits from the university’s experience in hosting numerous successful community and corporate events on Lipscomb’s main campus as it brings this new and innovative meeting space to Williamson County,” said John Lowry.

Williamson County leadership said they look forward to Lipscomb’s presence in the county.

“Lipscomb’s presence here brings more opportunities for Williamson County residents to pursue higher education and all of the benefits that goes with it. Having more higher educational opportunities in the county along with an extremely strong public school system makes this an even more attractive place for families and businesses to move,” said Rogers Anderson, county mayor for Williamson County.

“This non-traditional, state-of-the-art campus in the heart of the Cool Springs business community will offer flexibility and convenience for those who need to pursue a degree program around a work schedule as well as an environment that will spark creative thinking for community and corporate groups using the facility. This is yet another example of how Lipscomb University is creating opportunities to serve the community,” said Cindi Parmenter, president of the Brentwood Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce.

The academic programming to be offered at Spark includes degree work from several colleges and institutes at the university. Most of those classes will take place in the evenings and on weekends. When the space is not being used for academics—primarily during the daytime—it will be open to businesses and organizations looking for off-site options for meetings and other events. Construction on Spark will begin in the next few weeks with anticipated completion in the spring.

Lipscomb’s new facility will be a multi-purpose space providing the physical capability to accommodate various learning needs. It will consist of three learning spaces, each accommodating 24 to 36 participants depending on group size needed. Walls may also be reconfigured to create one large space. The result is a flexible space for event and academic activities that can quickly accommodate a need as small as one-on-one meetings or as large as a 125-person lecture. Additional spaces include a catering kitchen, a workspace area, a video conferencing room and two conference rooms along with a pre-function entry space that can be branded to participant use and is designed to hospitably welcome students, professionals and visitors.

Franklin Tomorrow's Vision Fair is continuing, with a set of the
Vision Fair boards being placed in the lobbies of Cool Springs’ area office buildings
for the next two weeks.

Through the Vision Fair, citizens can have their say in a shared vision for the future
of Franklin.

“One of the reasons to take the boards to a series of office buildings in Cool Springs is because we
define citizens as those who live, work and play in Franklin,” said Dan Ryan, Franklin Tomorrow
president. “People often spend as much of their day at work as they do at home and therefore, we
think our corporate citizens can offer a unique perspective on the goals and strategies which are
outlined in the Vision Fair process.”

Through today at noon, the boards are installed at the McEwen Building, in the ground-
floor lobby facing McEwen Drive. The community is invited to visit the location as well, with complete
instructions posted for completing the Vision Fair.

On Dec. 5, the Vision Fair boards will move from the McEwen Building to the lobby of Nine Corporate
Centre on Carothers Parkway. Again this location will be open to the public, as well as the corporate
citizens who occupy that building.

Another set of boards continues to make the rounds at various civic clubs and organizations, such as
the Downtown Neighborhood Association, which will have a chance for voting during their Dec. 12
holiday social at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

If these locations are not convenient, you can still participate in the survey online at
www.franklintomorrow.org.

Hundreds of volunteers have worked over the past year to develop refocused strategies and goals in
the nine areas in which Franklin Tomorrow works — Business, Community Character, Education,
Environment, Government, Growth & Development, Housing, Recreation, and Transportation.

More than 65 strategies have been developed by the volunteers to address the nine goal areas. After
voting concludes in December, a report will be compiled early in 2012 detailing the results of the
process.

This is the third time the goals and strategies of Franklin Tomorrow have been revisited during its 10
years in existence as a local non-profit.

Franklin Tomorrow uses a broad definition for the word citizen, encouraging those who live, work or
play in the city to become involved.

During the Vision Fair, citizens are asked to pick up a strip of five dots and review all nine boards then
select their top five strategies from the 67 suggested.

Those who would like to rewrite a strategy or have a suggestion can use the yellow index cards and
leave them in the brown box. Citizens can also sign up to join one of the working groups on the “YES!
I want to be part of the solution” sheets found on the table.

Franklin Tomorrow is a non-profit community organization that engages the community, fosters
collaboration and advocates for a shared vision for the future of Franklin.

The Franklin Fire Department is teaming up with Famous Dave’s Cool Springs this Saturday, October 22 for a fire safety day.

Firefighters will be at Famous Dave’s, 7086 Bakers Bridge Avenue, Franklin, from noon to 4 p.m. with apparatus demonstrations and information for both children and adults on how to prevent fires and how to stay safe when a fire occurs. The event is part of the department’s October Fire Prevention Month activities.

Firefighters will also sell Franklin Fire pink ribbon t-shirts during the event. Funds raised will benefit patients of the Breast Health Center at Williamson Medical Center.

In addition to pink t-shirts, there are brown, navy and purple shirts with pink lettering available. The cost is $15. Shirts are on sale now at all six Franklin fire stations and City Hall.

Firefighters will wear the pink Franklin Fire Department t-shirts while working on shift October 25-27 in honor of women who battle breast cancer. This year’s slogan is “Passionately pink for the cure!”

The Franklin Firefighters Association purchased the t-shirts for the department to wear and sell. Franklin Fire Engineer Nathan Goodin, who is the Association president, said the initiative is part of the “Cares enough to wear pink” national campaign organized by the Guardians of the Ribbon, a non-profit organization.

For more information contact the Franklin Fire Department at (615) 791-3270 or visit www.franklintn.gov/fire.

Nucci's is bringing old fashion Italian in a modern setting.

Imagine strolling around a piazza in Rome on a nice day with a scoop of cool, crisp gelato. That’s a nice image, right? Well, that plane ticket is rather expensive but take a trip down Meridian Boulevard in Cool Springs and you can experience the genuine taste of Italy at Nucci’s.

I walk into this shop with a friendly staff and pictures on the wall only to find out that it is family run and the family tree is what you see in those frames. Steve is the owner – he is a man with a broad range of knowledge. We talked for a long while about many things, not just gelato, and he was an absolute pleasure with his clear point of view and passion for what he is doing with Nucci’s.

A man out of “Corporate America”, which is what brought him and his family here from Pennsylvania, Steve sought to create something that would bring a new experience to this area as well as something he would enjoy beyond office life. Having been raised by an Italian mother, he grew up watching her make sauce and enjoyed the love she put into it. That same love now goes into what is done at this shop.

Making this place a reality, however, was more than Steve’s doing but was truly a family effort with wife, Connie, and their kids: Ben, Jay, Erin, and Morgan. Up north they studied under Carmen Esposito, a well-known gelato consultant and instructor, on how to produce authentic Italian gelato or as Steve calls it, water ice – you’ll have to ask him the difference. Gelato was the start to this vision, which then became a full café.

Wanting to separate themselves from the norm, this family took a look at how the food industry is doing business, and they noticed that the typical product being generated is high in fat, low in flavor, and large in portion. Taking note, their mission was to basically do the opposite offering food and dessert that is low in fat, high in flavor, and appropriate in portion. Our bodies crave these types of things – foods that are clean and not riddled with preservatives. People have commented on that the gelato must have something in it for them to crave it the way they do. The fact is that it is clean, homemade, and your body recognizes a good treat.

The family at Nucci’s is dedicated to making you good food, but they are also bringing the Italian culture to Cool Springs. You can learn Italian at the shop, which is brought to you by Italian For Fun, and also be educated on history and events in the area. That’s not the only thing special going on there – they have specials on gelato every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I recommend the Hazelnut, at least that’s my favorite, but the most popular is the Stracciatella. Whatever you decide, it will be fresh and made by the family serving you.

Enjoy.

Check them out on Facebook or online at nuccistn.com.

Brentwood Tn - Last night MLO, Mending Limbs Organization, held a mixer at Loser's 2 Cool Springs to build awareness for the cause and raise funds. Baillie and the Boys played and MLO raised close to $1000; I definitely consider that winning.


Mending Limbs Organization was founded in 2008 by Michelle Gilligan-Prichard and her husband Jared. Mending Limbs was created to educate individuals about the lack of medical insurance coverage for amputees as well as assist in funding prosthetics for amputees.  A law is needed in the state of Tennessee as well as across the nation so amputees can live full independent lives. Yearly events will be held to raise money to assist amputees in paying for prosthetics not covered by insurance. Mending Limbs Organization is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.


You can contribute by attending the next MLO event on November 12th. It is their 4th Annual Benefit Concert and Silent Auction which will be held at the factory. For more information you can visit www.MendingLimbs.org<http://www.mendinglimbs.org/>

The women pictured here managed to steal armfuls of Polo Brand big and tall polo shirts valued at more than $2,300 from a Cool Springs Galleria retailer.

The suspects’ brazen theft was caught on tape early Tuesday night when the women stuffed upwards of 16 shirts into a bag before walking out of the store. The heavyset suspect is believed to have been driving a silver Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla with a Tennessee license plate.

Tipping police to the identity of these felons could put up to $1,000 in your pocket with a simple call to Crime Stoppers, (615) 794-4000.

Carlisle Transportation Products announced today its plans to locate the newly created company’s corporate headquarters in Franklin.

The company will occupy 28,000 square feet of office space in the McEwen Building, a Class A office building near the intersection of West McEwen Drive and Mallory Lane in Franklin.

Carlisle Transportation Products is owned by parent company, Carlisle Companies Incorporated and was recently formed when the firm’s existing tire and wheel subsidiary and power transmission subsidiary were merged. Carlisle Transportation Products currently has manufacturing operations in Jackson and Clinton, Tenn., as well as multiple manufacturing and distribution centers in North America and China.

“I want to offer my congratulations to Carlisle for the company’s success and my thanks for their investment in Tennessee,” said Governor Bill  Haslam. “The jobs associated with this headquarters project will move us toward our goal of making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”

“The Nashville region provides Carlisle Transportation Products a central location and ready access to customers and manufacturing locations across the country,” said Fred Sutter, President, Carlisle Transportation Products. “Our ability to attract key talent to a highly regarded community like Franklin was a key part of our decision making.”

“This announcement shows Gov. Haslam’s strategy of developing strong relationships with companies doing business in Tennessee will pay dividends,” said Commissioner Bill Hagerty. “Carlisle’s positive experience in Tennessee, coupled with Williamson County’s strong reputation as a location for corporate headquarters made this announcement possible.”

“Our county aggressively recruits innovators and key corporate decision makers,” said Mayor Rogers Anderson, Williamson County. “With Carlisle, we get both and we’ll continue to pursue corporate headquarters projects to locate in our community, bringing with them the high paying jobs that move our economy forward.”

“Carlisle Transportation Products has made an excellent choice in locating its headquarters in the Cool Springs business district,” said Mayor Moore, city of Franklin. “The area is experiencing strong economic growth and the quality of life in this community is unequaled anywhere. Franklin looks forward to welcoming Carlisle Transportation Products.”

The company expects to begin occupying the McEwen space in October 2011, but will have temporary offices in the area in June. Applicants interested in applying for positions with Carlisle Transportation Products can send resumes to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop strategies which help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. The department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. To find out more, go to www.tn.gov/ecd or www.investtennessee.org.

About Carlisle Companies
Carlisle Companies Incorporated is a global diversified company that designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of products that serve a broad range of niche markets including commercial roofing, energy, agriculture, lawn and garden, mining and construction equipment, aerospace and electronics, dining and food delivery, and healthcare. Through a group of decentralized operating companies led by entrepreneurial management teams the company brings innovative product solutions to solve the challenges their customers face. With 11,000 employees worldwide, who generated $2.5 billion in net sales in 2010, the company is focused on continuously improving the value of the Carlisle brand by developing the best products, insuring the highest quality and providing unequaled customer service in the many industries we serve. Learn more about Carlisle at www.carlisle.com.