Granite City reclaims its craft-beer bona fidesGranite City reclaims its craft-beer bona fides

When Dick Lynch was eyeing the CEO job at Granite City Food & Brewery earlier this year, he saw a chain similar to the one he had just left, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, where he was the chief brand officer. 

You’d be excused if you found the comparison strange. Popeyes, after all, is a larger, quick-service chicken chain headquartered in Atlanta and based on recipes from Louisiana.

Granite City, meanwhile, is a small, polished, casual-dining chain of just 35 units with a broad menu based in Minneapolis and named for the Minnesota city of St. Cloud. About the only thing those two chains seemingly have in common is the Mississippi River. 

Yet to Lynch, the two chains are in similar positions. Granite City, much like Popeyes was in 2008, is in ...