Granite City Food & Brewery in Troy

The Pepper Bacon and Tomato Fire-Roasted Flatbread Pizza at Granite City Food & Brewery in Troy makes a shareable appetizer for the table or a big dinner for one. The crisp, flavorful crust is topped with fresh sliced tomato, fresh basil, lots of crisp bacon and two cheeses, with garlic aioli drizzled on top. (Credit: Sylvia Rector/Detroit Free Press)

Granite City Food & Brewery

Drivers on Big Beaver in Troy can’t miss the striking new Granite City Food & Brewery west of I-75. With its natural wood and stacked-stone exterior and  clean, contemporary lines, it looks like an ambitious, casually upscale chain restaurant — and it is.

But what customers probably don’t know about this Minneapolis-based newcomer to metro Detroit is its local roots.

Granite City’s founder and CEO, Steve Wagenheim, grew up at 10 Mile and Greenfield and went to Oak Park High School. Its chief operating officer, Dean Oakey, is from Clinton Township and graduated from Fraser High. Both are Michigan State graduates.

The Troy restaurant — one of 28 locations in 13 states — brews beer on site and offers a sprawling menu that ranges from soups, salads, burgers and pizzas to entrées of pasta, seafood, steaks, chicken and the like. Most entrées are priced in the teens at dinner (steaks are higher). Prices and portions at lunch are smaller.

On a couple of visits, my favorite dishes were a fire-roasted flatbread pizza and a burger, both designed to impress with their big flavors and generous portions. The flatbread’s crust was crisp and flavorful, and the generous toppings — crisp maple-pepper bacon pieces, bright red tomato slices and fresh basil with Parmesan, mozzarella and light garlic aioli — were delicious ($10.95).

Our thick, pepper-seasoned Bleu Peppercorn Burger ($10.95) was cooked medium as ordered and came topped with thick bacon slices, melted cheddar, blue cheese dressing and a mound of crispy onion strings. It was served with a choice of five sides, from fries to steamed broccoli, and its beefy flavor stood up well to its toppings.

While the flatbread pizza was a big hit, a traditional round pizza ordered on another visit had a doughy crust, cost more and didn’t look as carefully prepared.

And for the difference in price, we preferred the burger to an $18.95 London broil, which was overwhelmed by a thick, rather sweet caramelized onion bourbon sauce.

Granite City’s soaring interior is luxuriously spacious, comfortable and handsome, and finished with high-end materials including copper accents, those beautiful stacked gray stones, attractive fabrics, a dark tiled floor and lots of natural wood. The big bar, with its brewing equipment on view behind glass, is especially inviting. The restaurant is family-friendly. and suitable for large parties.

Wagenheim — former CEO and co-developer of the Champps sports-bar concept — and Oakey were excited to bring their Granite City chain “back home,” they  said when they opened in early May. Judging from the crowds that often pack the restaurant, they’re being warmly welcomed. Open daily for lunch and dinner and brunch on Sunday. Call-ahead seating. (699 W. Big Beaver; 248-519-1040 and www.gcfb.net)