CHUY'S HOLDINGS, INC. - Annual Report: 2012 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012

OR

For the transition period from              to             

Commission file number 001-35603

CHUY’S HOLDINGS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

1623 Toomey Road

Austin, Texas 78704

(Address of principal executive offices) (zip code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (512) 473-2783

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes        ¨        No        x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes        ¨        No        x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes        x        No        ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes        x        No        ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.    ¨

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):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).        Yes        ¨        No         x

As of June 24, 2012 (the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter), the registrant’s common stock was not publicly traded. The registrant’s common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on July 24, 2012.

As of March 25, 2013, 16,228,731 shares of the registrant’s common stock, $0.01 par value per share, were issued and outstanding.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This annual report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the current views of our senior management with respect to future events and our financial performance. These statements include forward-looking statements with respect to our business and industry in general. Statements that include the words “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “project,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “may,” “should,” “anticipate” and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature identify forward-looking statements for purposes of the federal securities laws or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements address matters that involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. We believe that these factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

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Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on our current knowledge of our business and operations, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The foregoing factors should not be construed as exhaustive. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from what we anticipate. Any forward-looking statements you read in this Form 10-K reflect our views as of the date of this annual report with respect to future events and are subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and you should carefully consider all of the factors identified in this report that could cause actual results to differ. We assume no obligation to update these forward looking statements, except as required by law.

Basis of Presentation

We operate on a 52- or 53-week fiscal year that ends on the last Sunday of the calendar year. Each quarterly period has 13 weeks, except for a 53-week year when the fourth quarter has 14 weeks. Our 2012 fiscal year consisted of 53 weeks. Our 2010 and 2011 fiscal years each consisted of 52 weeks. Fiscal years are identified in this annual report according to the calendar year in which the fiscal year ends. For example, references to “2012,” “fiscal 2012,” “fiscal year 2012” or similar references refer to the fiscal year ending December 30, 2012.

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PART I

Unless otherwise specified, or the context otherwise requires, the references in this report to “our company,” “the Company,” “us,” “we” and “our” refer to Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. together with its subsidiaries.

ITEM 1:    BUSINESS

General

Chuy’s is a fast-growing, full-service restaurant concept offering a distinct menu of authentic, freshly-prepared Mexican and Tex Mex inspired food. We were founded in Austin, Texas in 1982 by our Founders and, as of December 30, 2012, we operated 39 Chuy’s restaurants across Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Indiana, Georgia, Florida and Oklahoma, with an average unit volume of $5.0 million for our 24 comparable restaurants for the twelve months ended December 30, 2012. Our restaurants have a common décor, but we believe each location is unique in format, offering an “unchained” look and feel, as expressed by our motto “If you’ve seen one Chuy’s, you’ve seen one Chuy’s!” We believe our restaurants have an upbeat, funky, eclectic, somewhat irreverent atmosphere while still maintaining a family-friendly environment. We are committed to providing value to our customers through offering generous portions of made-from-scratch, flavorful Mexican and Tex Mex inspired dishes. We believe our employees are a key element of our culture and sets the tone for a fun, family-friendly atmosphere with attentive service. We believe the Chuy’s culture is one of our most valuable assets, and we are committed to preserving and continually investing in our culture and our customers’ restaurant experience.

Our core menu was established using recipes from family and friends of our Founders, and has remained relatively unchanged over the years. We offer the same menu during lunch and dinner, which includes enchiladas, fajitas, tacos, burritos, combination platters and daily specials, complemented by a variety of appetizers, soups and salads. Each of our restaurants also offers a variety of homemade sauces, including the signature Hatch green chile and creamy jalapeño sauces, all of which we make from scratch daily in each restaurant. These sauces are a key element of our offering and provide our customers with an added ability to customize their orders. Our menu offers considerable value to our customers, with only three out of 49 menu items priced over $10.00 as of December 30, 2012. We also offer a full-service bar in all of our restaurants providing our customers a wide variety of beverage offerings, featuring a selection of specialty cocktails including our signature on-the-rocks margaritas made with fresh, hand-squeezed lime juice and the Texas Martini, a made-to-order, hand-shaken cocktail served with jalapeño-stuffed olives. The bar represents an important aspect of our concept, where customers frequently gather prior to being seated. For the twelve months ended December 30, 2012, alcoholic beverages constituted 19.2% of our total restaurant sales.

We strive to create a unique and memorable customer experience at each of our locations. While the layout in each of our restaurants varies, we maintain distinguishable elements across our locations, including hand-carved, hand-painted wooden fish imported from Mexico, a variety of vibrant Mexican folk art, a “Nacho Car” that provides complimentary chips, salsa and chile con queso in the trunk of a classic car, vintage hubcaps hanging from the ceiling, colorful hand-made floor and wall tile and festive metal palm trees. Our restaurants range in size from 5,300 to 12,500 square feet, with seating for approximately 225 to 400 customers. Nearly all of our restaurants feature outdoor patios. We design our restaurants to have flexible seating arrangements that allows us to cater to families and parties of all sizes. Our brand strategy of having an “unchained” look and feel allows our restaurants to establish their own identity and provides us with a flexible real estate model. Our site selection process is focused on conversions of existing restaurants as well as new ground-up prototypes in select locations. Our restaurants are open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. We serve approximately 7,500 customers per location per week or 400,000 customers per location per year, on average, by providing high-quality, freshly prepared food at a competitive price point. We believe that many of Chuy’s frequent customers visit one of our restaurants multiple times per week.

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Our Business Strengths

Over our 30-year operating history, we have developed and refined the following strengths:

Fresh, Authentic Mexican and Tex Mex Inspired Cuisine. Our goal is to provide unique, authentic Mexican and Tex Mex inspired food using only the freshest ingredients. We believe we serve authentic Mexican and Tex Mex inspired food based on our recipes, ingredients, cooking techniques and food pairings, which originated from our Founders’ friends and families from Mexico, New Mexico and Texas. Every day in each restaurant, we roast and hand pull whole chickens, hand roll fresh tortillas, squeeze fresh lime juice and prepare fresh guacamole from whole avocados. In addition, we make all nine to eleven of our homemade sauces daily using high-quality ingredients. We believe this commitment to made-from-scratch, freshly prepared cooking results in great tasting, high-quality food, a sense of pride among our restaurant employees and loyalty among our customers. Some of our kitchen managers travel to Hatch, New Mexico every summer to hand-select batches of our green chiles. We believe our commitment to serving high-quality food is also evidenced by us serving only Choice quality beef and fresh ingredients. We believe our servers and kitchen staff are highly proficient in executing the core menu and capable of satisfying large quantities of custom orders, as the majority of our orders are customized.

Considerable Dining Value with Broad Customer Appeal. We are committed to providing value to our customers through offering generous portions of flavorful Mexican and Tex Mex inspired dishes using fresh, high-quality ingredients. We believe our menu offers a considerable value proposition to our customers, with only three out of our 49 menu items priced over $10.00 as of December 30, 2012. Further highlighting our value proposition, for the twelve months ended December 30, 2012, our average check was $13.18. Through our training programs, we train our employees to make sure that each plate is prepared according to our presentation and recipe standards.

Although our core demographic is ages 21 to 44, we believe our restaurants appeal to a broad spectrum of customers and will continue to benefit from trends in consumers’ preferences. We believe consumers are craving bold, spicy and flavorful foods, like those featured in our core offering. Additionally, we believe our brand appeals to a wide demographic and will continue to benefit from the growing demand for fresh, authentic Mexican and Tex Mex inspired food and a fun, festive dining experience. We believe we are also an attractive venue for families and other large parties, and consider many of our restaurants to be destination locations, drawing customers from as far as 30 miles away. We locate our restaurants in high-traffic locations to attract primarily local patrons with limited reliance on business travelers.

Upbeat Atmosphere Coupled with Irreverent Brand Helps Differentiate Concept. As stated in our motto “If you’ve seen one Chuy’s, you’ve seen one Chuy’s!” each of our restaurants is uniquely designed. However, most share a few common elements—hand-carved, hand-painted wooden fish, vintage hubcaps hanging from the ceiling, colorful hand-made floor and wall tile, palm trees crafted from scrap metal and a variety of colorful Mexican folk art. Much of this décor, including all of the wooden fish and painted tiles, is sourced from vendors in Mexican villages that have partnered with us for decades. Additionally, virtually all restaurants feature a complimentary self-serve “Nacho Car,” a hollowed-out, customized classic car trunk filled with fresh chips, salsa, chile con queso and more.

We believe these signature elements, combined with attentive service from our friendly and energetic employees create an upbeat ambience with a funky, eclectic and somewhat irreverent atmosphere. Our restaurants feature a fun mix of rock and roll rather than traditional Mexican-style music, which we believe helps to provide an energetic customer experience. We also believe that each restaurant reflects the character and history of its individual community. Many of our restaurants have added unique, local elements such as a special wall of photos featuring customers with their friends, families and dogs. We believe this has allowed our customers to develop a strong sense of pride and ownership in their local Chuy’s.

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Deep Rooted and Inspiring Company Culture. We believe the Chuy’s culture is one of our most valuable assets, and we are committed to preserving and continually investing in our culture and restaurant experience. Since our founding in 1982, we believe we have developed close personal relationships with our customers, employees and vendors. We emphasize a fun, passionate and authentic culture and support active social responsibility and involvement in local communities. We regularly sponsor a variety of community events including our annual Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Parade, Chuy’s Hot to Trot 5K and other local charitable events. We believe our employees and customers share a unique energy and passion for our concept. We are proud of our annual employee turnover rate at comparable restaurants, which as of December 30, 2012 was 22.4% for managers and 70.0% for hourly employees and our goal of promoting 40% of restaurant-level managers from within, as well as our solid base of repeat customers.

In order to retain our unique culture as we grow, we invest significant time and capital into our training programs. We devote substantial resources to identifying, selecting and training our restaurant-level employees. We typically have ten in-store trainers at each existing location who provide both front- and back-of-the-house training on site as well as two training coordinators that lead new restaurant training. We also have an approximately 20-week training program for all of our restaurant managers, which consists of an average of 11 weeks of restaurant training and eight to nine weeks of “cultural” training, in which managers observe our established restaurants’ operations and customer interactions. We believe our focus on cultural training is a core aspect of our company and reinforces our commitment to the Chuy’s brand identity. In conjunction with our training activities, we hold “Culture Clubs” four times or more per year, as a means to fully impart the Chuy’s story through personal appearances by our Founders.

Flexible Business Model with Industry Leading Unit Economics. We have a long standing track record of consistently producing high average unit volumes relative to competing Mexican concepts, as well as established casual dining restaurants. For the twelve months ended December 30, 2012, our comparable restaurants generated average unit volumes of $5.0 million, with our highest volume restaurant generating $8.2 million and our lowest volume restaurant generating $3.2 million. We have opened and operated restaurants in Texas, the Southeast and the Midwest and achieved attractive rates of return on our invested capital, providing a strong foundation for expansion in both new and existing markets. Under our investment model, our new restaurant openings have historically required a net cash investment of approximately $1.8 million. For our new unit openings, we estimate that each ground-up buildout of our prototype will require a total cash investment of $1.7 million to $2.5 million (net of estimated tenant incentives of between zero and $0.8 million). We estimate that each conversion will require a total cash investment of $2.0 million to $2.2 million. We target a cash-on-cash return beginning in the third operating year of 40.0%, and a sales to investment ratio of 2:1. On average, returns on new units opened since 2001 have exceeded these target returns in the second year of operations.

Experienced Management Team. We are led by a management team with significant experience in all aspects of restaurant operations. Our senior management team has an average of approximately 29 years of restaurant experience and our 40 general managers, as of December 30, 2012, have an average tenure at Chuy’s of approximately seven years. In 2007, we hired our CEO and President, Steve Hislop. Mr. Hislop is the former President of O’Charley’s Restaurants, where he spent 19 years performing a variety of functions, including serving as Concept President and a member of the board of directors, and helped grow the business from 12 restaurants to a multi-concept company with 347 restaurants during his tenure. Since Mr. Hislop’s arrival in 2007, we have accelerated our growth plan and opened 33 new restaurants, as of March 25, 2013, and entered seven new states.

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Our Business Strategies

Pursue New Restaurant Development. We plan to open new restaurants in both established and adjacent markets across Texas, the Southeast and the Midwest where we believe we can achieve high unit volumes and attractive unit level returns. We believe the broad appeal of the Chuy’s concept, historical unit economics and flexible real estate strategy enhance the portability of our concept and provide us opportunity for continued expansion. Our new restaurant development will consist primarily of conversions of existing structures, with ground up construction of our prototype in select locations.

We have built a scalable infrastructure and have grown our restaurant base through a challenging economic environment. In 2010, we opened six new restaurants including three locations outside of Texas: Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Birmingham, Alabama; and Louisville, Kentucky. In 2011, we opened eight new restaurants, including our first restaurants in Indiana and Georgia. We opened eight restaurants in 2012, including our first restaurants in Oklahoma and Florida. Each of these restaurants opened at high unit volumes with attractive returns and provides us a platform to continue our growth. Our restaurants opened since 2001 that have been in operations for more than two years have generated average cash-on-cash returns of greater than 40.0% in the second year of operations. We have opened two restaurants as of March 25, 2013 and plan to open an additional six to seven restaurants in 2013. From January 1, 2013 through the end of 2017, we expect to open a total of 59 to 64 new restaurants.

Deliver Consistent Comparable Restaurant Sales Through Providing High-Quality Food and Service. We believe we will be able to generate comparable restaurant sales growth by consistently providing an attractive price/value proposition for our customers with excellent service in an upbeat atmosphere. We remain focused on delivering freshly prepared, authentic, high-quality Mexican and Tex Mex inspired cuisine at a considerable value to our customers. Though the core menu will remain unchanged, we will continue to explore potential additions as well as limited time food and drink offerings. Additionally, we will continue to promote our brand and drive traffic through local marketing efforts and charity events such as the Chuy’s Hot to Trot 5K and the Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Parade, as well as our line of eclectic t-shirts.

Additionally, we prioritize customer service in our restaurants, and will continue to invest significantly in ongoing training of our employees. In addition to our new manager training program and at least quarterly “Culture Clubs,” 20 to 24 of our trainers are dispatched to open new restaurants and ensure a solid foundation of customer service, food preparation and our cultured environment. We believe these initiatives will help enhance customer satisfaction, minimize wait times and help us serve our customers more efficiently during peak periods, which we believe is particularly important at our restaurants that operate at or near capacity.

Leverage Our Infrastructure. In preparation for our new restaurant development plan, we have made investments in our infrastructure over the past several years. We believe we now have the corporate and restaurant-level supervisory personnel in place to support our growth plan for the foreseeable future without significant additional investments in infrastructure. Therefore, we believe that as the restaurant base grows, our general and administrative costs will increase at a slower growth rate than our revenue. Additionally, we foresee relatively minimal increases in marketing spend as we enter new markets, as the majority of our marketing is done through non-traditional channels such as community events, charity sponsorships, social media and word-of-mouth from our devoted followers, as well as partnerships with local public relations firms.

On November 30, 2012, we entered into a $25.0 million secured revolving credit facility (the “New Revolving Credit Facility”) and borrowed $5.0 million thereunder to repay all the debt outstanding under our $67.5 million senior secured credit facility, as amended (the “Old Credit Facility”) and to pay fees and expenses associated with our New Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 30, 2012 we had $5.0 million of outstanding indebtedness under our New Revolving Credit Facility. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in this report for risks associated with our ability to execute our growth strategy.

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Real Estate

As of March 25, 2013, we leased 48 locations, of which 41 are free-standing restaurants and 7 are end-cap or in-line restaurants in Class A locations. Of these locations, 5 are scheduled to open by the end of 2013. End-cap restaurants are highly visible locations at one of the ends of a retail development whereas in-line restaurants are locations that are between multiple retail locations within a development. Class A locations are upscale properties with easily identifiable locations and convenient access that are surrounded by other upscale properties. Our restaurants range in size from approximately 5,300 to 12,500 square feet, averaging approximately 8,000 square feet with seating capacity for approximately 225 to 400 customers. Since the beginning of 2008 through March 25, 2013, we have opened 33 new restaurants. Since our inception in 1982, we have moved two locations and closed three locations and we have not moved or closed a location since 2004. All of our leases provide for base (fixed) rent, plus the majority provide for additional rent based on gross sales (as defined in each lease agreement) in excess of a stipulated amount, multiplied by a stated percentage. A significant percentage of our leases also provide for periodic escalation of minimum annual rent either based upon increases in the Consumer Price Index or a pre-determined schedule. The initial lease terms range from 10 to 20 years, with renewal options for 5 to 20 additional years. Typically, our leases are 10 or 15 years in length with 2 to 3, 5-year extension options. The initial terms of our leases currently expire between 2016 and 2032. We are also generally obligated to pay certain real estate taxes, insurances, common area maintenance charges and various other expenses related to the properties. Our corporate headquarters is also leased and is located at 1623 Toomey Road, Austin, Texas 78704. For additional information about certain facilities, including our corporate headquarters and six of our restaurant locations, we rent from related parties, see Item 13. “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.” For additional information regarding our leases, see Item 13. “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence—Leases.”

Site Selection Process

We have developed a targeted site acquisition and qualification process incorporating management’s experience as well as extensive data collection, analysis and interpretation. We are actively developing restaurants in both new and existing markets, and we will continue to expand in selected regions throughout the U.S. We have an agreement with a master broker, Foremark, which identifies and works with a local broker to conduct preliminary research regarding a location. The preliminary research includes an analysis of traffic patterns, parking, access, demographic characteristics, population density, level of affluence, consumer attitudes or preferences and current or expected co-retail and restaurant tenants. Foremark then presents potential sites to our Vice President of Real Estate and Development. If our financial criteria for the site are satisfied, our Vice Presidents of Operations and Chief Executive Officer visit the site and, subject to board approval, our management negotiates the lease. The key criteria we have for a site is that the population within a three mile radius of the restaurant has a high concentration of our target demographic, which is persons ages 21 to 44 and persons with income ranges between $60,000 and $85,000 per year that dine out frequently. We also prefer locations with high visibility, especially in a new market, and ample parking spaces.

We seek to identify sites that contribute to our “If you’ve seen one Chuy’s, you’ve seen one Chuy’s” vision, meaning no two restaurants are alike. As we do not have standardized restaurant requirements with respect to size, location or layout, we are able to be flexible in our real estate selection process. In line with this strategy, we prefer to identify a combination of conversion sites as well as ground-up prototypes.

Design

After identifying a lease site, we commence our restaurant buildout. We strive to create a unique and memorable customer experience at each of our locations. While the layout in each of our restaurants varies, we maintain certain distinguishable elements across virtually all locations – hand-carved,

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hand-painted wooden fish imported from Mexico, a variety of vibrant Mexican folk art, a “Nacho Car” that provides complimentary chips, salsa and chile con queso in the trunk of a classic car, vintage hubcaps hanging from the ceiling, colorful hand-made floor and wall tile and festive metal palm trees. Nearly all of our restaurants feature outdoor patios. Additionally, our flexible seating arrangements allow us to cater to families and parties of all sizes including larger groups, which we believe is a key differentiator from other casual dining operators.

Our new restaurants are either ground-up prototypes or conversions. We estimate that each ground-up buildout restaurant will require a total cash investment of $1.7 million to $2.5 million (net of estimated tenant incentives of between zero and $0.8 million). We estimate that each conversion will require a total cash investment of $2.0 million to $2.2 million. The flexibility of our concepts has enabled us to open restaurants in a wide variety of locations, including high-density residential areas and near shopping malls, lifestyle centers and other high-traffic locations. On average, it takes us approximately 12 to 18 months from identification of the specific site to opening the doors for business. In order to maintain consistency of food and customer service as well as the unique atmosphere at our restaurants, we have set processes and timelines to follow for all restaurant openings.

The development and construction of our new sites is the responsibility of our Vice President of Real Estate and Development. Several project managers are responsible for building the restaurants, and several staff members manage purchasing, budgeting, scheduling and other related administrative functions.

New Restaurant Development

We have opened 33 new locations since the beginning of 2008 through March 25, 2013 and our management believes we are well-positioned to continue this growth through our new restaurant pipeline, which includes locations currently under development and with respect to which we are actively negotiating letters of intent. We maintain a commitment to capitalizing on opportunities and realizing efficiencies in our existing markets while also pursuing attractive locations in new markets. We seek to identify new markets in which we believe there is capacity for us to open multiple restaurants. From January 1, 2013 through the end of 2017, we expect to open a total of 59 to 64 new restaurants.

Restaurant Operations

We currently have nine supervisors that report directly to one of our two Vice Presidents of Operations, who in turn each report to our Chief Executive Officer. Each supervisor oversees an average of five to six restaurants in their respective geographic areas. The staffing at our restaurants typically consists of a general manager, a kitchen manager and four to six assistant managers. In addition, each of our restaurants employs approximately 120 hourly employees.

Sourcing and Supply

Our procurement team consists of our Vice President of Real Estate and Development and our Director of Purchasing and his team, which have been sourcing and purchasing our food and other supply products for over 24 years. We rely on two regional distributors, Labatt Foodservice in Texas and Oklahoma and Performance Food Group (“PFG”) in the Southeastern United States, and various suppliers to provide our beef, cheese, beans, soybean oil, beverages and our groceries. Our distributors deliver supplies to each restaurant two to three times each week. Our distributor relationships with Labatt Foodservice and PFG have been in place for approximately eleven years and approximately one month, respectively, and the distributors cover 27 and 14 locations, respectively, as of March 25, 2013. For our chicken products, we rely on two suppliers for our Southeast locations and Martin Preferred Foods, as our sole supplier in Texas and Oklahoma. For our green chiles, we contract to buy, through our supplier, Bueno Foods of Albuquerque, New Mexico, chiles from a group of farmers in New Mexico each year, which we have the right to select under our agreement. If the farmers are

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unable or do not supply a sufficient amount of green chiles or if we need chiles out of season, we purchase the excess amount from the general supply of Bueno Foods. Each restaurant, through its general manager and kitchen manager, purchases its produce locally. Changes in the price or availability of certain food products could affect the profitability of certain food items, our ability to maintain existing prices and our ability to purchase sufficient amounts of items to satisfy our customers’ demands.

We are currently under contract with our principal non-alcoholic beverage provider through 2014. Our ability to arrange national distribution of alcoholic beverages is restricted by state law; however, where possible, we negotiate directly with spirit companies and/or regional distributors. We also contract with two third-party providers to source our cooking oil.

Food Safety

Providing a safe and clean dining experience for our customers is essential to our mission statement. We have taken steps to control food quality and safety risks, including designing and implementing a training program for our kitchen staff, employees and managers focusing on food safety and quality assurance. In addition, to minimize the risk of food-borne illness, we have implemented a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (“HACCP”) system for managing food safety and quality. Currently, a few of the jurisdictions in which we operate have implemented these new guidelines and we expect that additional jurisdictions will implement these guidelines in the near future. We also consider food safety and quality assurance when selecting our distributors and suppliers. Our suppliers are inspected by federal, state and local regulators or other reputable, qualified inspection services, which helps ensure their compliance with all federal food safety and quality guidelines.

Building Our Brand

We believe our restaurants appeal to a broad spectrum of customers due to our freshly-prepared food offering, attentive service and festive dining experience. Our target demographic is persons ages 21 to 44 and persons within the income range of $60,000 to $85,000 per year that dine out frequently. We aim to build our brand image and awareness while retaining local neighborhood relationships by increasing the frequency of visits by our current customers and attracting new customers. We primarily foster relationships with local schools, chambers of commerce, businesses and sports teams through hosting tasting events and partnering in and sponsoring local charity events. Our marketing strategy also focuses on generating significant brand awareness at new restaurant openings.

Local Brand Building

A key aspect of our local restaurant marketing/branding strategy is developing community relationships with residents, local schools, hotels and chambers of commerce. Our restaurant managers are closely involved in developing and implementing the majority of our local restaurant marketing/branding programs.

Since our founding in 1982, Chuy’s success has stemmed from close personal relationships with our customers, employees and vendors. We believe the Chuy’s culture, which emphasizes fun and authenticity while fostering social responsibility and involvement in local communities, is one of our most valuable assets, and we are committed to preserving and continually investing in it.

We regularly hold a variety of community events. Each spring, we host the Chuy’s Annual Hot to Trot 5K and Kid’s K at our Arbor Trails location in Texas, which benefits the Special Olympics of Texas. During the winter holidays, we sponsor the Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Parade, which collects toys for the Blue Santa program in Austin, Texas. The Blue Santa program gives gifts and holiday meals to needy families in Central Texas. With respect to our locations outside of Texas, we participate in and sponsor several community events across all of our locations, specifically focusing on helping children’s charities. For example, we participated in the BrightStone Golf Benefit in Cool Springs, Tennessee, the Magic City Mile in Birmingham, Alabama and the Kosair Charities Circus in Louisville,

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Kentucky. To celebrate one of our signature ingredients, the Hatch green chile, we hold an annual Green Chile Festival in all of our restaurants during the August and September harvest, with special menu items featuring Hatch chiles and promotional give-aways.

New Restaurant Openings

We have developed a marketing/branding strategy that we use in connection with new restaurant openings to help build local brand recognition and create a “buzz.” We start off by establishing a visual presence through such means as installing one of our emblematic red fish on the top of our new location and staging Elvis sightings in the area surrounding our new location. During that time, we also try to become active in the local community by, for example, joining the chamber of commerce and meeting local community leaders. In new markets, we generally host a pre-opening party called a “Redfish Rally” after our emblematic red fish for our social media fans and local Texas Exes (University of Texas at Austin alumni group), a group that is generally familiar with and displays an affinity for our concept. During our “Redfish Rallies”, we serve our food and margaritas and give away free Chuy’s merchandise.

We use the pre-opening period for our new restaurants as an opportunity to reach out to various media outlets as well as the local community. We retain local, niche marketing groups to assist us with addressing the local market, establishing relationships with local charities and gaining brand recognition. To promote new openings, we employ a variety of marketing techniques in addition to issuing press releases, launching direct mail campaigns, and e-marketing, such as hosting concierge parties, training lunches and dinners and food tastings with local residents, media, community leaders and businesses.

E-Marketing & Social Media

We have increased our use of e-marketing tools, which enables us to reach a significant number of people in a timely and targeted fashion at a fraction of the cost of traditional media. We believe our customers are generally frequent Internet users and will use social media to share dining experiences. We have set up four Facebook pages, including our corporate page and three local market pages, that we use to engage with customers. We also have a mailing list that allows us to send customers updates about events at their local Chuy’s.

Training and Employee Programs

We devote significant resources to identifying, selecting and training restaurant-level employees, with an approximately 20-week training program for all of our restaurant managers that includes an average of 11 weeks of restaurant training and eight to nine weeks of “cultural” training, in which managers observe our established restaurants’ operations and customer interactions. We conduct comprehensive training programs for our management, hourly employees and corporate personnel. Our training program covers leadership, team building, food safety certification, alcohol safety programs, customer service philosophy training, sexual harassment training and other topics. In conjunction with our training activities, we hold “Culture Clubs” four times or more per year, as a means to fully impart the Chuy’s story through personal appearances by our Founders.

Our training process in connection with opening new restaurants has been refined over the course of our experience. Trainers oversee and conduct both service and kitchen training and are on site through the first two weeks of opening and remain on site for two to three additional weeks as needed and depending on unit volumes during the initial weeks. We have one front- and one back-of-the-house training coordinator, and these training coordinators remain on-site to manage the opening for approximately the same period as our other trainers. The lead and other trainers assist in opening new locations and lend support and introduce our standards and culture to the new team. We believe that hiring the best available team members and committing to their training helps keep retention high during the restaurant opening process.

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Management Information Systems

At all of our restaurants, we use Hospitality Solutions International for our point-of-sale system, which manages our credit card transactions. This software communicates directly with our corporate headquarters and provides headquarters with near real-time information about restaurant level performance and sales. We implemented a new enterprise back office software program, Restaurant Magic, in all of our locations. This program compiles our accounts payable, payroll, inventory and purchasing information and communicates that information to our headquarters to provide visibility on restaurant level operations. We no longer use our back-office software that we license from Banana Peel, LLC. We completed the implementation of Restaurant Magic during the third quarter of 2012. For additional information regarding our license agreement with Banana Peel, see Item 13. “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”

Government Regulation

We are subject to numerous federal, state and local laws affecting our business. Each of our restaurants is subject to licensing and regulation by a number of government authorities, which may include alcoholic beverage control, nutritional information disclosure, health, sanitation, environmental, zoning and public safety agencies in the state or municipality in which the restaurant is located.

For the twelve months ended December 30, 2012, 19.2% of our total restaurant sales were attributable to alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverage control regulations require each of our restaurants to apply to a state authority and, in certain locations, county and municipal authorities, for licenses and permits to sell alcoholic beverages on the premises. Typically, licenses must be renewed annually and may be subject to penalties, temporary suspension or revocation for cause at any time. Alcoholic beverage control regulations impact many aspects of the daily operations of our restaurants, including the minimum ages of patrons and staff members consuming or serving these beverages, respectively; staff member alcoholic beverage training and certification requirements; hours of operation; advertising; wholesale purchasing and inventory control of these beverages; the seating of minors and the servicing of food within our bar areas; special menus and events, such as happy hours; and the storage and dispensing of alcoholic beverages. State and local authorities in many jurisdictions routinely monitor compliance with alcoholic beverage laws. We are subject to “dram shop” statutes in most of the states in which we operate, which generally provide a person injured by an intoxicated person the right to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person.

Various federal and state labor laws govern our operations and our relationships with our staff members, including such matters as minimum wages, breaks, overtime, fringe benefits, safety, working conditions and citizenship or work authorization requirements. We are also subject to the regulations of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. In addition, some states in which we operate have adopted immigration employment laws which impose additional conditions on employers. Even if we operate our restaurants in strict compliance with the laws, rules and regulations of these federal and state agencies, some of our staff members may not meet federal citizenship or residency requirements or lack appropriate work authorizations, which could lead to a disruption in our work force. Significant government-imposed increases in minimum wages, paid or unpaid leaves of absence, sick leave, and mandated health benefits, or increased tax reporting, assessment or payment requirements related to our staff members who receive gratuities, could be detrimental to the profitability of our restaurants operations. Further, we are continuing to assess the impact of recently-adopted federal health care legislation on our health care benefit costs. The imposition of any requirement that we provide health insurance benefits to staff members that are more extensive than the health insurance benefits we currently provide, or the imposition of additional employer paid employment taxes on income earned by our employees, could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position. Our distributors and suppliers also may be affected by higher minimum wage and benefit standards, which could result in higher costs for goods and

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services supplied to us. In addition, while we carry employment practices insurance covering a variety of labor-related liability claims, a settlement or judgment against us that is uninsured or in excess of our coverage limitations could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, liquidity, financial position or business.

The recent Patient Protection and Affordability Act of 2010 (the “PPACA”) federal legislation enacted in March 2010 requires chain restaurants with 20 or more locations in the United States to comply with federal nutritional disclosure requirements. Although the FDA published proposed regulations to implement the menu labeling provisions of the PPACA in April 2011, the agency has delayed the release of final regulations implementing these requirements. A number of states, counties and cities have also enacted menu labeling laws requiring multi-unit restaurant operators to disclose certain nutritional information available to customers, or have enacted legislation restricting the use of certain types of ingredients in restaurants. Although the federal legislation is intended to preempt conflicting state or local laws on nutrition labeling, until we are required to comply with the federal law we will be subject to a patchwork of state and local laws and regulations regarding nutritional content disclosure requirements. Many of these requirements are inconsistent or are interpreted differently from one jurisdiction to another. While we believe our ability to adapt to consumer preferences is a strength of our concept, the effect of such labeling requirements on consumer choices, if any, is unclear at this time.

There is also a potential for increased regulation of food in the United States, such as the recent changes in the HACCP system requirements. HACCP refers to a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of potential hazards from production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. Many states have adopted legislation or implemented regulations which require restaurants to develop and implement HACCP Systems. Similarly, the United States Congress and the FDA continue to expand the sectors of the food industry that must adopt and implement HACCP programs. For example, the Food Safety Modernization Act (the “FSMA”) was signed into law in January 2011 and significantly expanded FDA’s authority over food safety. Among other requirements, the FSMA granted the FDA with new authority to proactively ensure the safety of the entire food system, including through new and additional hazard analysis, food safety planning, increased inspections, and permitting mandatory food recalls. Although restaurants are specifically exempted from some of the new requirements outlined in the FSMA and not directly implicated by other requirements, we anticipate that some of the FSMA provisions and FDA’s implementation of the new requirements may impact our industry. We cannot assure you that we will not have to expend additional time and resources to comply with new food safety requirements either required by the FSMA or future federal food safety regulation or legislation. Additionally, our suppliers may initiate or otherwise be subject to food recalls that may impact the availability of certain products, result in adverse publicity or require us to take actions that could be costly for us or otherwise harm our business.

We are subject to a variety of federal and state environmental regulations concerning the handling, storage and disposal of hazardous materials, such as cleaning solvents, and the operation of restaurants in environmentally sensitive locations may impact aspects of our operations. During fiscal 2012, there were no material capital expenditures for environmental control facilities, and no such expenditures are anticipated.

Our facilities must comply with the applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”) and related federal and state statutes. The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability with respect to public accommodations and employment. Under the ADA and related federal and state laws, we must make access to our new or significantly remodeled restaurants readily accessible to disabled persons. We must also make reasonable accommodations for the employment of disabled persons.

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We have a significant number of hourly restaurant staff members who receive income from gratuities. We rely on our staff members to accurately disclose the full amount of their tip income and we base our FICA tax reporting on the disclosures provided to us by such tipped employees.

Intellectual Property

We believe that having distinctive marks that are registered and readily identifiable is an important factor in identifying our brand and differentiating our brand from our competitors. We currently own registrations from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) for the following trademarks: Chuy’s; Chuy’s Mil Pescados Bar (stylized lettering); Chuy’s Green Chile Festival; Fish with sunglasses (our emblematic fish design); and Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Parade, which we have the right to use under our Parade Sponsorship agreement. For more information on this agreement see Item 13. “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.” We have also registered our chuys.com domain name. However, as a result of our settlement agreement with an unaffiliated entity, Baja Chuy’s, we may not use “Chuy’s” in Nevada, California or Arizona. An important part of our intellectual property strategy is the monitoring and enforcement of our rights in markets in which our restaurants currently exist or markets which we intend to enter in the future. We also monitor trademark registers to oppose the applications to register confusingly similar trademarks or to limit the expansion of the scope of goods and services covered by existing similar trademarks. We enforce our rights through a number of methods, including the issuance of cease-and-desist letters or making infringement claims in federal court.

Restaurant Industry Overview

According to the National Restaurant Association (the “NRA”), U.S. restaurant industry sales in 2011 were $610.8 billion and grew 4.2% to $636.4 billion in 2012, versus U.S. gross domestic product growth of 2.2% in 2012. The $636.4 billion in sales in 2012 is composed of 91.2% commercial restaurant services and 8.4% noncommercial restaurant services, which include food service for hospitals, transportation services, schools and other noncommercial outlets. These sales are generated by approximately 13.0 million restaurant industry employees. According to the NRA, restaurant industry sales in the states in which we operate—Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, Oklahoma and Florida—were approximately $121.7 billion in 2012 with average sales growth of approximately 4.8%.

We believe we are well positioned to benefit from several fundamental trends in the restaurant industry and U.S. population. The NRA estimated that 48% of total U.S. food expenditures were spent at restaurants. Analysts believe that purchases of “food away from home” are attributable to demographic, economic and lifestyle trends, including the rise in the number of women in the workplace, an increase in average household income, an aging U.S. population and an increased willingness by consumers to pay for the convenience of meals prepared outside of their homes. Real disposable personal income, a key driver of restaurant industry sales, increased 1.4% in 2012, following an increase of 1.3% in 2011. We cannot provide assurance that we will benefit from the aforementioned demographic trends.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population is projected to be the fastest growing demographic in the U.S., nearly tripling in size from 48.4 million people in 2009 to 132.8 million people by 2050. During this time, the Hispanic population’s share of the nation’s total population is projected to nearly double, from approximately 16% to 30%. We believe the projected growth in the Hispanic population will result in an increase in demand for Mexican/Hispanic foods. We cannot provide assurance that we will benefit from these long-term demographic trends, although we believe the Hispanic influence on dining trends will continue to grow in tandem with the population growth.

The restaurant industry is divided into two primary segments including limited-service and full-service restaurants and is generally categorized by price, quality of food, service and location. Chuy’s

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competes in the full-service restaurant segment, which according to Technomic, Inc., a national consulting and market research firm, had approximately $169.4 billion of sales in 2011, and is expected to grow 2.2% in 2012 to sales of $173.0 billion. The Mexican food component of the full-service restaurant segment is a highly fragmented sector, with the top five restaurants based on sales, representing approximately 17% of the category in 2011. According to Technomic, full service Mexican restaurants posted a sales increase of 2.0% in 2011, despite a 0.2% decline in units.

Competition

The restaurant business is intensely competitive with respect to food quality, price/value relationships, ambience, service and location, and is affected by many factors, including changes in consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns, macroeconomic conditions, demographic trends, weather conditions, the cost and availability of raw materials, labor and energy and government regulations. Our main competitors are full service concepts in the multi-location, casual dining segment in which we compete most directly for real estate locations and customers, including Texas Roadhouse, Cheddar’s Casual Cafe and BJ’s Restaurants. We also compete with other providers of Tex Mex and Mexican fare and adjacent segments, including casual and fast casual segments. We believe we compete favorably for consumers on our food quality, price/value and unique ambience and experience of our restaurants.

Seasonality

Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations with restaurant sales typically higher during the spring and summer months as well as in December. Adverse weather conditions during our most favorable months or periods may affect customer traffic. In addition, at all but one of our restaurants we have outdoor seating, and the effects of adverse weather may impact the use of these areas and may negatively impact our revenues.

Employees

As of December 30, 2012, we had approximately 4,770 employees, including 42 corporate management and staff personnel, 321 restaurant level managers and 4,407 hourly employees. None of our employees are unionized or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We believe that we have good relations with our employees.

Company Information

Our principal executive office is located at 1623 Toomey Road, Austin, Texas 78704 and our telephone number is 1-888-HEY-CHUY. Our website address is www.chuys.com. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this report.

ITEM 1A:    RISK FACTORS

In evaluating our Company, you should consider carefully the following risk factors and the other information in this report, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes to those statements. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

Our financial results depend significantly upon the success of our existing and new restaurants.

Future growth in our revenues and profits will depend on our ability to develop profitable new restaurants, maintain or grow sales and efficiently manage costs in our existing and new restaurants. As of March 25, 2013, we operated 41 restaurants, of which 14 restaurants are not considered

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comparable. The results achieved by these restaurants may not be indicative of longer-term performance or the potential market acceptance of restaurants in other locations.

The success of our restaurants revolves principally around customer traffic and average check per customer and customer experience. Significant factors that might adversely affect the average customer traffic and average check include, without limitation:

Our restaurants are also susceptible to increases in certain key operating expenses that are either wholly or partially beyond our control, including, without limitation:

Certain of our restaurants operate at or near capacity. As a result, we may be unable to grow or maintain same store sales at those restaurants, particularly if additional restaurants are opened near the existing location. The failure of our existing or new restaurants to perform as expected could have a significant negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our long-term success is highly dependent on our ability to successfully identify appropriate sites and develop and expand our operations in existing and new markets.

We intend to develop new restaurants in our existing markets, and selectively enter into new markets. Since the start of 2008, we have expanded from 8 restaurants to 41 restaurants as of March 25, 2013. We opened eight restaurants in 2012. We have opened two restaurants as of March 25, 2013 and plan to open an additional six to seven restaurants in 2013. There can be no assurance that any new restaurant that we open will have similar operating results to those of existing restaurants. We may not be able to open our planned new restaurants on a timely basis, if at all, and, if opened, these restaurants may not be operated profitably. The number and timing of new restaurants opened during any given period, and their associated contribution to operating growth, may be negatively impacted by a number of factors including, without limitation:

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We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, delays in restaurant openings from time to time. Such actions may limit our growth opportunities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully expand or acquire critical market presence for our brand in new geographical markets, as we may encounter well-established competitors with substantially greater financial resources. We may be unable to find attractive locations, build name recognition, successfully market our brand or attract new customers. We may incur additional costs in new markets, particularly for transportation and distribution, which may impact the profitability of those restaurants. Competitive circumstances and consumer characteristics and preferences in new market segments and new geographical markets may differ substantially from those in the market segments and geographical markets in which we have substantial experience. If we are unable to expand in existing markets or penetrate new markets, our ability to increase our revenues and profitability may be harmed.

Changes in economic conditions, including continuing effects from the recent recession, could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The restaurant industry depends on consumer discretionary spending. The recent recession, coupled with high unemployment rates, reduced home values, increases in home foreclosures, investment losses, personal bankruptcies, rising fuel prices and reduced access to credit and reduced consumer confidence, has impacted consumers’ ability and willingness to spend discretionary dollars. Economic conditions may remain volatile and may continue to repress consumer confidence and discretionary spending for the near term. If current volatile economic conditions continue for a prolonged period of time or worsens, customer traffic could be adversely impacted if our customers choose to dine out less frequently or reduce the amount they spend on meals while dining out. We believe that if the current volatile economic conditions persist for a long period of time or become more pervasive, consumers might make long-lasting changes to their discretionary spending behavior, including dining out less frequently on a permanent basis. If restaurant sales decrease, our profitability could decline as we spread fixed costs across a lower level of sales. Reductions in staff levels, asset impairment charges and potential restaurant closures could result from prolonged negative restaurant sales. There can be no assurance that the macroeconomic environment or the regional economics in which we operate will improve significantly or that government stimulus efforts will improve consumer confidence, liquidity, credit markets, home values or unemployment, among other things.

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Damage to our reputation or lack of acceptance of our brand in existing or new markets could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We believe we have built our reputation on the high-quality of our food, service and staff, as well as on our unique culture and the ambience in our restaurants, and we must protect and grow the value of our brand to continue to be successful in the future. Any incident that erodes consumer affinity for our brand could significantly reduce its value and damage our business. For example, our brand value could suffer and our business could be adversely affected if customers perceive a reduction in the quality of our food, service or staff, or an adverse change in our culture or ambience, or otherwise believe we have failed to deliver a consistently positive experience.

In addition, our ability to successfully develop new restaurants in new markets may be adversely affected by a lack of awareness or acceptance of our brand in these new markets. To the extent that we are unable to foster name recognition and affinity for our brand in new markets, our new restaurants may not perform as expected and our growth may be significantly delayed or impaired.

We may be adversely affected by news reports or other negative publicity regardless of their accuracy, regarding food quality issues, public health concerns, illness, safety, injury or government or industry findings concerning our restaurants, restaurants operated by other foodservice providers, or others across the food industry supply chain. The risks associated with such negative publicity cannot be completely eliminated or mitigated and may materially harm our results of operations and result in damage to our brand.

Also, there has been a marked increase in the use of social media platforms and similar devices, including weblogs (blogs), social media websites and other forms of Internet-based communications which allow individuals access to a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons. Consumers value readily available information concerning goods and services that they have or plan to purchase, and may act on such information without further investigation or authentication. The availability of information on social media platforms is virtually immediate as is its impact. Many social media platforms immediately publish the content their subscribers and participants can post, often without filters or checks on accuracy of the content posted. The opportunity for dissemination of information, including inaccurate information, is seemingly limitless and readily available. Information concerning our company may be posted on such platforms at any time. Information posted may be adverse to our interests or may be inaccurate, each of which may harm our performance, prospects or business. The harm may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction. Such platforms also could be used for dissemination of trade secret information, compromising valuable company assets. In sum, the dissemination of information online could harm our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations, regardless of the information’s accuracy.

Our brand could also be confused with brands that have similar names, including Baja Chuy’s Mesquite Broiler, Inc. (“Baja Chuy’s”), an unaffiliated restaurant chain with whom we have entered into a settlement agreement regarding use of the Chuy’s name. As a result, our brand value may be adversely affected by any negative publicity related to Baja Chuy’s or any other restaurant that may use brand names, trademarks or trade dress that are similar to ours.

We are susceptible to economic and other trends and developments, including adverse weather conditions, in the local or regional areas in which our restaurants are located.

Our financial performance is highly dependent on restaurants located in Texas and the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. As a result, adverse economic conditions in any of these areas could have a material adverse effect on our overall results of operations. In recent years, certain of these states have been more negatively impacted by the housing decline, high unemployment rates and the overall economic crisis than other geographic areas. In addition, given our geographic concentrations, particularly in Texas, negative publicity regarding any of our restaurants in these areas could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations, as could other regional occurrences such as local strikes, terrorist attacks, increases in energy prices, adverse weather conditions, hurricanes,

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droughts or other natural or man-made disasters. Adverse weather conditions may also impact customer traffic at our restaurants, cause the temporary underutilization of outdoor patio seating, and, in more severe cases, cause temporary restaurant closures, sometimes for prolonged periods.

Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations, with restaurant sales typically higher during the spring and summer months as well as in December. Adverse weather conditions during our most favorable months or periods may exacerbate the effect of adverse weather on customer traffic and may cause fluctuations in our operating results from quarter-to-quarter within a fiscal year. In addition, outdoor patio seating is available at all but one of our restaurants and may be impacted by a number of weather-related factors. Our inability to fully utilize our restaurants’ seating capacity as planned may negatively impact our revenues and results of operations.

The impact of negative economic factors, including the availability of credit, on our landlords and surrounding tenants could negatively affect our financial results.

Negative effects on our existing and potential landlords due to the inaccessibility of credit and other unfavorable economic factors may, in turn, adversely affect our business and results of operations. If our landlords are unable to obtain financing or remain in good standing under their existing financing arrangements, they may be unable to provide construction contributions or satisfy other lease covenants to us. In addition, if our landlords are unable to obtain sufficient credit to continue to properly manage their retail sites, we may experience a drop in the level of quality of such retail centers. Our development of new restaurants may also be adversely affected by the negative financial situations of developers and potential landlords. Landlords may try to delay or cancel recent development projects (as well as renovations of existing projects) due to the instability in the credit markets and recent declines in consumer spending, which could reduce the number of appropriate locations available that we would consider for our new restaurants. Furthermore, the failure of landlords to obtain licenses or permits for development projects on a timely basis, which is beyond our control, may negatively impact our ability to implement our development plan.

Changes in food availability and costs could adversely affect our operating results.

Our profitability and operating margins are dependent in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in food costs. We rely on two regional distributors, Labatt Foodservice in Texas and Oklahoma and PFG in the Southeastern United States, and various suppliers to provide our beef, cheese, beans, soybean oil, beverages and our groceries. For our chicken products, we rely on two suppliers for our Southeast locations and a sole supplier in Texas and Oklahoma. For our green chiles, we contract to buy, through our supplier, Bueno Foods of Albuquerque, New Mexico, chiles from a group of farmers in New Mexico each year, which we have the right to select under our agreement. If and to the extent the farmers are unable or do not supply a sufficient amount of green chiles or if we need chiles out of season, we purchase the excess amount from the general supply of Bueno Foods. Each restaurant, through its general manager and kitchen manager, purchases its produce locally. Any increase in distribution prices, increase in the prices charged by suppliers or failure to perform by these third-parties could cause our food costs to increase or us to experience short-term unavailability of certain products. Failure to identify an alternate source of supply for these items may result in significant cost increases and an inability to provide certain of the items on our menu. If these events occur, it may reduce the profitability of certain of our offerings and may cause us to increase our prices. In addition, any material interruptions in our supply chain, such as a material interruption of ingredient supply due to the failures of third-party distributors or suppliers, or interruptions in service by common carriers that ship goods within our distribution channels, may result in significant cost increases and reduce sales. Changes in the price, as a result of inflation or otherwise, or availability of certain food products could affect the profitability of certain food items, our ability to maintain existing prices and our ability to purchase sufficient amounts of items to satisfy our customer’s demands, which could materially adversely affect our profitability and reputation.

The type, variety, quality, availability and price of produce, beef, chicken and cheese are more volatile than other types of food and are subject to factors beyond our control, including weather, governmental

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regulation, availability and seasonality, each of which may affect our food costs or cause a disruption in our supply. Our food distributors and suppliers also may be affected by higher costs to produce and transport commodities used in our restaurants, higher minimum wage and benefit costs and other expenses that they pass through to their customers, which could result in higher costs for goods and services supplied to us. Although we are able to contract for the majority of the food commodities used in our restaurants for periods of up to one year, the pricing and availability of some of the commodities used in our operations, such as our produce, cannot be locked in for periods of longer than one week or at all. We do not use financial instruments to hedge our risk to market fluctuations in the price of our ingredients and other commodities at this time. We may not be able to anticipate and react to changing food costs through our purchasing practices and menu price adjustments in the future, and failure to do so could negatively impact our revenues and results of operations.

Increases in our labor costs, including as a result of changes in government regulation, could slow our growth or harm our business.

We are subject to a wide range of labor costs. Because our labor costs are, as a percentage of revenues, higher than other industries, we may be significantly harmed by labor cost increases. Unfavorable fluctuations in market conditions, availability of such insurance or changes in state and/or federal regulations could significantly increase our insurance premiums. In addition, we are subject to the risk of employment-related litigation at both the state and federal levels, including claims styled as class action lawsuits which are more costly to defend. Also, some employment related claims in the area of wage and hour disputes are not insurable risks.

Significant increases in health care costs may continue to occur, and we can provide no assurance that we will be able to contain those costs. Further, we are continuing to assess the impact of recently-adopted federal health care legislation on our health care benefit costs, and significant increases in such costs could adversely impact our operating results. There is no assurance that we will be able to contain our costs related to such legislation in a manner that will not adversely impact our operating results.

In addition, many of our restaurant personnel are hourly workers subject to various minimum wage requirements or changes to tip credits. Mandated increases in minimum wage levels and changes to the tip credit, which are the amounts an employer is permitted to assume an employee receives in tips when calculating the employee’s hourly wage for minimum wage compliance purposes, have recently been and continue to be proposed and implemented at both federal and state government levels. For example, in Kentucky our wait staff is not permitted to pool tips in order to share those tips with bartenders and bussing staff. As a result, we must pay our bartenders and bussing staff in our Kentucky locations additional amounts to ensure they receive minimum wage. Continued minimum wage increases or changes to allowable tip credits may further increase our labor costs or effective tax rate.

Various states in which we operate are considering or have already adopted new immigration laws, and the U.S. Congress and Department of Homeland Security from time to time consider or implement changes to Federal immigration laws, regulations or enforcement programs as well. Some of these changes may increase our obligations for compliance and oversight, which could subject us to additional costs and make our hiring process more cumbersome, or reduce the availability of potential employees. Although we require all workers to provide us with government-specified documentation evidencing their employment eligibility, some of our employees may, without our knowledge, be unauthorized workers. Unauthorized workers are subject to deportation and may subject us to fines or penalties, and if any of our workers are found to be unauthorized we could experience adverse publicity that negatively impacts our brand and may make it more difficult to hire and keep qualified employees. Termination of a significant number of employees that unbeknownst to us were unauthorized employees may disrupt our operations, cause temporary increases in our labor costs as we train new employees and result in additional adverse publicity. Our financial performance could be materially harmed as a result of any of these factors.

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Labor shortages could increase our labor costs significantly or restrict our growth plans.

Our restaurants are highly dependent on qualified management and operating personnel. Qualified individuals have historically been in short supply and an inability to attract and retain them would limit the success of our existing restaurants as well as our development of new restaurants. We place a heavy emphasis on the qualification and training of our personnel and spend significantly more on training our employees than our competitors. We can make no assurances that we will be able to attract and retain qualified individuals in the future which may have a more significant effect on our operation than those of our competitors. Additionally, the cost of attracting and retaining qualified individuals may be higher than we anticipate, and as a result, our profitability could decline.

Customer traffic at our restaurants could be significantly affected by competition in the restaurant industry in general and, in particular, within the dining segments of the restaurant industry in which we compete.

The restaurant industry is highly competitive with respect to food quality, ambience, service, price and value and location, and a substantial number of restaurant operations compete with us for customer traffic. The main competitors for our brand are other operators of mid-priced, full service concepts in the multi-location casual dining and Tex Mex/Mexican food segments in which we compete most directly for real estate locations and customers. Some of our competitors have significantly greater financial, marketing, personnel and other resources than we do, and many of our competitors are well established in markets in which we have existing restaurants or intend to locate new restaurants. Any inability to successfully compete with the other restaurants in our markets will place downward pressure on our customer traffic and may prevent us from increasing or sustaining our revenues and profitability. We may also need to evolve our concept in order to compete with popular new restaurant formats or concepts that develop from time to time, and we cannot offer any assurance that we will be successful in doing so or that modifications to our concept will not reduce our profitability. In addition, with improving product offerings at fast casual restaurants, quick-service restaurants and grocery stores and the influence of negative economic conditions and other factors, consumers may choose less expensive alternatives, which could also negatively affect customer traffic at our restaurants.

Legislation and regulations requiring the display and provision of nutritional information for our menu offerings, and new information or attitudes regarding diet and health or adverse opinions about the health effects of consuming our menu offerings, could affect consumer preferences and negatively impact our results of operations.

Government regulation and consumer eating habits may impact our business as a result of changes in attitudes regarding diet and health or new information regarding the health effects of consuming our menu offerings. These changes have resulted in, and may continue to result in, the enactment of laws and regulations that impact the ingredients and nutritional content of our menu offerings, or laws and regulations requiring us to disclose the nutritional content of our food offerings. For example, a number of states, counties and cities have enacted menu labeling laws requiring multi-unit restaurant operators to disclose certain nutritional information available to customers, or have enacted legislation restricting the use of certain types of ingredients in restaurants. Furthermore, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (the “PPACA”) establishes a uniform, federal requirement for certain restaurants to post nutritional information on their menus. Specifically, the PPACA amended the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to require chain restaurants with 20 or more locations operating under the same name and offering substantially the same menus to publish the total number of calories of standard menu items on menus and menu boards, along with a statement that puts this calorie information in the context of a total daily calorie intake. The PPACA also requires covered restaurants to provide to consumers, upon request, a written summary of detailed nutritional information for each standard menu item, and to provide a statement on menus and menu boards about the availability of this information.

The PPACA further permits the United States Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) to require covered restaurants to make additional nutrient disclosures, such as disclosure of trans fat content. An

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unfavorable report on, or reaction to, our menu ingredients, the size of our portions or the nutritional content of our menu items could negatively influence the demand for our offerings.

Compliance with current and future laws and regulations regarding the ingredients and nutritional content of our menu items may be costly and time-consuming. Additionally, if consumer health regulations or consumer eating habits change significantly, we may be required to modify or discontinue certain menu items, and we may experience higher costs associated with the implementation of those changes. Although the FDA published proposed regulations to implement the menu labeling provisions of the PPACA in April 2011, the agency has delayed the release of final regulations implementing these requirements. Additionally, some government authorities are increasing regulations regarding trans-fats and sodium, which may require us to limit or eliminate trans-fats and sodium from our menu offerings, switch to higher cost ingredients or may hinder our ability to operate in certain markets. If we fail to comply with these laws or regulations, our business could experience a material adverse effect.

We cannot make any assurances regarding our ability to effectively respond to changes in consumer health perceptions or our ability to successfully implement the nutrient content disclosure requirements and to adapt our menu offerings to trends in eating habits. The imposition of menu-labeling laws could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position, as well as the restaurant industry in general.

Multiple jurisdictions in which we operate have recently enacted new requirements that require us to adopt and implement a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (“HACCP”) System for managing food safety and quality. HACCP refers to a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of potential hazards from production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. We expect to incur certain costs to comply with these regulations and these costs may be more than we anticipate. If we fail to comply with these laws or regulations, our business could experience a material adverse effect.

Federal, state and local beer, liquor and food service regulations may have a significant adverse impact on our operations.

We are required to operate in compliance with federal laws and regulations relating to alcoholic beverages administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives of the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as the laws and licensing requirements for alcoholic beverages of states and municipalities where our restaurants are or will be located. In addition, each restaurant must obtain a food service license from local authorities. Failure to comply with federal, state or local regulations could cause our licenses to be revoked and force us to cease the sale of alcoholic beverages at our certain locations. Any difficulties, delays or failures in obtaining such licenses, permits or approvals could delay or prevent the opening of a restaurant in a particular area or increase the costs associated therewith. In addition, in certain states, including states where we have existing restaurants or where we plan to open a restaurant, the number of liquor licenses available is limited, and licenses are traded on the open market. Liquor, beer and wine sales comprise a significant portion of our revenues. If we are unable to maintain our existing licenses, our customer patronage, revenues and results of operations could be adversely affected. Or, if we choose to open a restaurant in those states where the number of licenses available is limited, the cost of a new license could be significant.

We apply for our liquor licenses with the advice of outside legal and licensing consultants. Because of the many and various state and federal licensing and permitting requirements, there is a significant risk that one or more regulatory agencies could determine that we have not complied with applicable licensing or permitting regulations or have not maintained the approvals necessary for us to conduct business within its jurisdiction. Any changes in the application or interpretation of existing laws may adversely impact our restaurants in that state, and could also cause us to lose, either temporarily or permanently, the licenses, permits and regulations necessary to conduct our restaurant operations, and subject us to fines and penalties.

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Restaurant companies have been the target of class-actions and other litigation alleging, among other things, violations of federal and state law.

We are subject to a variety of lawsuits, administrative proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of our business. In recent years, a number of restaurant companies have been subject to claims by customers, employees and others regarding issues such as food safety, personal injury and premises liability, employment-related claims, harassment, discrimination, disability and other operational issues common to the foodservice industry. A number of these lawsuits have resulted in the payment of substantial damages by the defendants. An adverse judgment or settlement that is not insured or is in excess of insurance coverage could have an adverse impact on our profitability and could cause variability in our results compared to expectations. We carry insurance policies for a significant portion of our risks and associated liabilities with respect to workers’ compensation, general liability, employer’s liability, health benefits and other insurable risks. Regardless of whether any claims that may be brought against us are valid or whether we are ultimately determined to be liable, we could also be adversely affected by negative publicity, litigation costs resulting from the defense of these claims and the diversion of time and resources from our operations.

We are subject to state “dram shop” laws and regulations, which generally provide that a person injured by an intoxicated person may seek to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person. Recent litigation against restaurant chains has resulted in significant judgments, including punitive damages, under such “dram shop” statutes. While we carry liquor liability coverage as part of our existing comprehensive general liability insurance, we may still be subject to a judgment in excess of our insurance coverage, and we may not be able to obtain or continue to maintain such insurance coverage at reasonable costs, if at all. Regardless of whether any claims against us are valid or whether we are liable, we may be adversely affected by publicity resulting from such laws.

Our marketing programs may not be successful.

We expend resources in our marketing efforts using a variety of media, including social media. We expect to continue to conduct brand awareness programs and customer initiatives to attract and retain customers. These initiatives may not be successful, resulting in expenses incurred without the benefit of higher revenues. Additionally, some of our competitors have greater financial resources, which enable them to spend significantly more on marketing and advertising than we are able to. Should our competitors increase spending on marketing and advertising or our marketing funds decrease for any reason, or should our advertising and promotions be less effective than our competitors, there could be a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

The impact of new restaurant openings could result in fluctuations in our financial performance.

Quarterly results have been, and in the future may continue to be, significantly impacted by the timing of new restaurant openings (often dictated by factors outside of our control), including associated restaurant pre-opening costs and operating inefficiencies, as well as changes in our geographic concentration due to the opening of new restaurants. We typically incur the most significant portion of restaurant pre-opening expenses associated with a given restaurant within the five months immediately preceding and the month of the opening of the restaurant. As the regional and national economies in which we operate improve, we may encounter more competition in obtaining lease sites and, as a result, may be unable to negotiate similar levels of tenant incentives under our new leases. If we are unable to obtain similar levels of tenant incentives for a particular unit, we would expect to incur increased capital expenditures in advance of opening and pay lower rent with respect to the restaurant. Our experience has been that labor and operating costs associated with a newly opened restaurant for the first several months of operation are materially greater than what can be expected after that time, both in aggregate dollars and as a percentage of revenues. Our new restaurants commonly take nine months to one year to reach planned operating levels due to inefficiencies typically associated with new restaurants, including the training of new personnel, lack of market awareness, inability to hire

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sufficient qualified staff and other factors. Accordingly, the volume and timing of new restaurant openings has had, and may continue to have, a meaningful impact on our profitability. Due to the foregoing factors, results for any one quarter are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other quarter or for a full fiscal year, and these fluctuations may cause our operating results to be below expectations of public market analysts and investors.

Opening new restaurants in existing markets may negatively affect sales at our existing restaurants.

The consumer target area of our restaurants varies by location, depending on a number of factors such as population density, local retail and business attractions, area demographics and geography. As a result, the opening of a new restaurant in or near markets in which we already have existing restaurants could adversely impact the sales of new or existing restaurants. Our core business strategy does not entail opening new restaurants that materially impact sales at our existing restaurants but we may selectively open new restaurants in and around areas of existing restaurants that are operating at or near capacity. There can be no assurance that sales cannibalization between our restaurants will not occur or become more significant in the future as we continue to expand our operations.

Our business operations and future development could be significantly disrupted if we lose key members of our management team.

The success of our business continues to depend to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of our senior officers and key employees, both individually and as a group. Our future performance will be substantially dependent in particular on our ability to retain and motivate Steve Hislop, our Chief Executive Officer, and our other senior officers. We currently have employment agreements in place with Messrs. Hislop, Howie, Biller, Hatcher and Zapp and Mrs. Russell. The loss of the services of our CEO, other senior officers or other key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business and plans for future development. We have no reason to believe that we will lose the services of any of these individuals in the foreseeable future; however, we currently have no effective replacement for any of these individuals due to their experience, reputation in the industry and special role in our operations. We also do not maintain any key man life insurance policies for any of our employees.

Our growth may strain our infrastructure and resources, which could slow our development of new restaurants and adversely affect our ability to manage our existing restaurants.

We opened six and eight restaurants in 2010 and 2011, respectively. We opened eight restaurants in 2012. We have opened two restaurants as of March 25, 2013 and plan to open an additional six to seven restaurants in 2013. Our future growth may strain our administrative staff, management systems and resources, financial controls and information systems. Those demands on our infrastructure and resources may also adversely affect our ability to manage our existing restaurants. If we fail to continue to improve our infrastructure or to manage other factors necessary for us to meet our expansion objectives, our operating results could be materially and adversely affected. Likewise, if sales decline, we may be unable to reduce our infrastructure quickly enough to prevent sales deleveraging, which would adversely affect our profitability.

Our insurance policies may not provide adequate levels of coverage against all claims, and fluctuating insurance requirements and costs could negatively impact our profitability.

We believe our insurance coverage is customary for businesses of our size and type. However, there are types of losses we may incur that cannot be insured against or that we believe are not commercially reasonable to insure. These losses, if they occur, could have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, the cost of workers’ compensation insurance, general liability insurance and directors’ and officers’ liability insurance fluctuates based on our historical trends, market conditions and availability. Additionally, health insurance costs in general have risen significantly over the past few years and are expected to continue to increase. These increases, as well as recently-enacted federal legislation requiring employers to provide specified levels of health insurance to all employees, could have a negative impact on our profitability, and there

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can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully offset the effect of such increases with plan modifications and cost control measures, additional operating efficiencies or the pass-through of such increased costs to our customers.

Our indebtedness may limit our ability to invest in the ongoing needs of our business and if we are unable to comply with our financial covenants, our liquidity and results of operations could be adversely affected.

At December 30, 2012 we had $5.0 million of outstanding indebtedness under our New Revolving Credit Facility.

Our New Revolving Credit Facility places certain conditions on us, including that it:

Our New Revolving Credit Facility places certain limitations on our ability to incur additional indebtedness. However, subject to the qualifications and exceptions in our New Revolving Credit Facility, we may incur substantial additional indebtedness under that facility and may incur obligations that do not constitute indebtedness under that facility. The New Revolving Credit Facility also places certain limitations on, among other things, our ability to enter into certain types of transactions, financing arrangements and investments, to make certain changes to our capital structure and to guarantee certain indebtedness. The New Revolving Credit Facility also places certain restrictions on the payment of dividends and distributions. These restrictions limit or prohibit, among other things, our ability to:

Failure to comply with certain covenants or the occurrence of a change of control under our New Revolving Credit Facility could result in the acceleration of our obligations under the New Revolving Credit Facility, which would have an adverse effect on our liquidity, capital resources and results of operations.

Our New Revolving Credit Facility also requires us to comply with certain financial covenants including a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio and a maximum total lease adjusted leverage ratio. Changes with respect to these financial covenants may increase our interest rate and failure to comply with these covenants could result in a default and an acceleration of our obligations under the New Revolving Credit Facility, which would have an adverse effect on our liquidity, capital resources and results of operations. See “Description of Indebtedness.”

We may be unable to obtain debt or other financing on favorable terms or at all.

There are inherent risks in our ability to borrow. Our lenders may have suffered losses related to their lending and other financial relationships, especially because of the general weakening of the national economy, increased financial instability of many borrowers and the declining value of their assets. As a

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result, lenders may become insolvent or tighten their lending standards, which could make it more difficult for us to increase the available commitment under our New Revolving Credit Facility, refinance our existing indebtedness or to obtain other financing on favorable terms or at all. Our financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected if we were unable to draw funds under our New Revolving Credit Facility because of a lender default or to obtain other cost-effective financing.

Longer term disruptions in the capital and credit markets as a result of uncertainty, changing or increased regulation, reduced alternatives or failures of significant financial institutions could adversely affect our access to liquidity needed for our business. Any disruption could require us to take measures to conserve cash until the markets stabilize or until alternative credit arrangements or other funding for our business can be arranged. Such measures could include deferring capital expenditures (including the opening of new restaurants) and reducing or eliminating other discretionary uses of cash.

We may be required to record asset impairment charges in the future.

In accordance with accounting guidance as it relates to the impairment of long-lived assets, we review long-lived assets, such as property and equipment and intangibles subject to amortization, for impairment when events or circumstances indicate the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. In determining the recoverability of the asset value, an analysis is performed at the individual restaurant level and primarily includes an assessment of historical cash flows and other relevant factors and circumstances. Negative restaurant-level cash flow (defined as restaurant net income plus depreciation, gain and/or loss on assets and pre-opening expense) over the previous 12-month period in a stabilized location is considered a potential impairment indicator. In such situations, the Company evaluates future cash flow projections in conjunction with qualitative factors and future operating plans. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the restaurant to the estimated undiscounted future cash flow expected to be generated by the restaurant. If the carrying amount of the restaurant exceeds estimated future cash flow, an impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value.

Continued economic weakness within our respective markets may adversely impact consumer discretionary spending and may result in lower restaurant sales. Unfavorable fluctuations in our commodity costs, supply costs and labor rates, which may or may not be within our control, may also impact our operating margins. Any of these factors could as a result affect the estimates used in our impairment analysis and require additional impairment tests and charges to earnings. We continue to assess the performance of our restaurants and monitor the need for future impairment. There can be no assurance that future impairment tests will not result in additional charges to earnings.

Security breaches of confidential customer information in connection with our electronic processing of credit and debit card transactions may adversely affect our business.

The majority of our restaurant sales are by credit or debit cards. Other restaurants and retailers have experienced security breaches in which credit and debit card information of their customers has been stolen. We may in the future become subject to lawsuits or other proceedings for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising out of the actual or alleged theft of our customers’ credit or debit card information. In addition, most states have enacted legislation requiring notification of security breaches involving personal information, including credit and debit card information. Any such claim, proceeding, or mandatory notification could cause us to incur significant unplanned expenses, which could have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Further, adverse publicity resulting from these allegations may have a material adverse effect on us and our restaurants.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property, which, in turn, could harm the value of our brand and adversely affect our business.

Our ability to implement our business plan successfully depends in part on our ability to build brand recognition in the areas surrounding our locations using our trademarks and other proprietary intellectual property, including our brand names, logos and the unique ambience of our restaurants. We have registered or applied to register a number of our trademarks. We cannot assure you that our

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trademark applications will be approved. Also, as a result of the settlement agreement with an unaffiliated entity, Baja Chuy’s, we may not use “Chuy’s” in Nevada, California or Arizona, which may have an adverse effect on our growth plans in these states. Additionally, our brand value may be diluted as a result of their use of “Chuy’s” in these states. Third parties may also oppose our trademark applications, or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks. In the event that our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our goods and services, which could result in loss of brand recognition, and could require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands.

We enforce our rights through a number of methods, including the issuance of cease-and-desist letters or making infringement claims in federal court. If our efforts to register, maintain and protect our trademarks or other intellectual property are inadequate, or if any third party misappropriates, dilutes or infringes on our intellectual property, the value of our brand may be harmed, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and might prevent our brand from achieving or maintaining market acceptance. We may also face the risk of claims that we have infringed third parties’ intellectual property rights. A successful claim of infringement against us could result in our being required to pay significant damages or enter into costly licensing or royalty agreements in order to obtain the right to use a third party’s intellectual property, any of which could have a negative impact on our results of operations and harm our future prospects. If such royalty or licensing agreements are not available to us on acceptable terms or at all, we may be forced to stop the sale of certain products or services. Any claims of intellectual property infringement, even those without merit, could be expensive and time consuming to defend, require us to rebrand our services, if feasible, and divert management’s attention.

We also rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how to protect our brand. Our methods of safeguarding this information may not be adequate. Moreover, we may face claims of misappropriation or infringement of third parties’ rights that could interfere with our use of this information. Defending these claims may be costly and, if unsuccessful, may prevent us from continuing to use this proprietary information in the future and may result in a judgment or monetary damages. We do not maintain confidentiality agreements with all of our team members or suppliers. Even with respect to the confidentiality agreements we have, we cannot assure you that those agreements will not be breached, that they will provide meaningful protection, or that adequate remedies will be available in the event of an unauthorized use or disclosure of our proprietary information. If competitors independently develop or otherwise obtain access to our trade secrets or proprietary know-how, the appeal of our restaurants could be reduced and our business could be harmed. In addition, if we default under our lease agreements with our landlord, Young/Zapp GP, LLC (“Young/Zapp”) and its subsidiaries, at certain of our locations, our landlord may have the right to operate a Tex Mex or Mexican food restaurant at that location using our recipes and our trade dress. If such default were to occur, the brand value of our recipes and our trade dress might suffer.

Information technology system failures or breaches of our network security could interrupt our operations and adversely affect our business.

We rely on our computer systems and network infrastructure across our operations, including point-of-sale processing at our restaurants. Our operations depend upon our ability to protect our computer equipment and systems against damage from physical theft, fire, power loss, telecommunications failure or other catastrophic events, as well as from internal and external security breaches, viruses, worms and other disruptive problems. Any damage or failure of our computer systems or network infrastructure that causes an interruption in our operations could have a material adverse effect on our business and subject us to litigation or actions by regulatory authorities. Although we employ both internal resources and external consultants to audit our systems, and test them for vulnerability, have implemented firewalls, data encryption and other security controls and intend to maintain and upgrade our security technology and operational procedures to prevent such damage, breaches or other disruptive problems, these security measures may not eliminate all risks.

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A major natural or man-made disaster could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Most of our corporate systems, processes and corporate support for our restaurant operations are centralized at our headquarters in Austin, Texas, with certain systems and processes being concurrently stored at an offsite storage facility in accordance with our disaster recovery plan. As part of our new disaster recovery plan, we are currently finalizing the backup processes for our core systems at our co-location facility. If we are unable to fully implement this new disaster recovery plan, we may experience failures or delays in recovery of data, delayed reporting and compliance, inability to perform necessary corporate functions and other breakdowns in normal operating procedures that could have a material adverse effect on our business and create exposure to administrative and other legal claims against us.

We incur increased costs and obligations as a result of being a public company.

Prior to our initial public offering (“IPO”) in July 2012, we were a privately held company and were not required to comply with certain corporate governance and financial reporting practices and policies required of a publicly traded company. As a publicly traded company, we incur and expect to continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we were not required to incur in the recent past, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). In addition, new and changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the rules and regulations promulgated and to be promulgated thereunder, as well as under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), the JOBS Act, and the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the Nasdaq Global Select Market, have created uncertainty for public companies and increased our costs and time that our board of directors and management must devote to complying with these rules and regulations. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and lead to a diversion of management time and attention from revenue generating activities. We estimate that we will incur approximately $1.3 to $1.6 million of incremental costs per year associated with being a publicly traded company; however, it is possible that our actual incremental costs of being a publicly-traded company will be higher than we currently estimate. In estimating these costs, we took into account expenses related to insurance, legal, accounting and compliance activities.

Furthermore, the need to establish the corporate infrastructure demanded of a public company may divert management’s attention from implementing our growth strategy, which could prevent us from improving our business, results of operations and financial condition. We have made, and will continue to make, changes to our internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and accounting systems to meet our reporting obligations as a publicly traded company. However, the measures we take may not be sufficient to satisfy our obligations as a publicly traded company.

For as long as we remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies.” These exceptions provide for, but are not limited to, relief from the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, less extensive disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, exemptions from the requirements to hold a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved and an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. We may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” We may remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years. To the extent we use exemptions from various reporting requirements under the JOBS Act, we may be unable to realize our anticipated cost savings from those exemptions.

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Pursuant to the recently enacted JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for so long as we are an “emerging growth company.”

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, starting with the second annual report that we file with the SEC as a public company, and generally requires in the same report a report by our independent registered public accounting firm on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. However, under the recently enacted JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” We could be an “emerging growth company” for up to five years.

Our internal control over financial reporting does not currently meet the standards required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and failure to achieve and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our business and share price.

As a privately held company, we were not required to evaluate our internal control over financial reporting in a manner that meets the standards of publicly traded companies required by Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We anticipate being required to meet these standards in the course of preparing our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 29, 2013, and our management will be required to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for such year. Additionally, once we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” our independent registered public accounting firm will be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting on an annual basis. The rules governing the standards that must be met for our management to assess our internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation.

In connection with the implementation of the necessary procedures and practices related to internal control over financial reporting, we may identify deficiencies that we may not be able to remediate in time to meet the deadline imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for compliance with the requirements of Section 404. In addition, we may encounter problems or delays in completing the implementation of any requested improvements and receiving a favorable attestation in connection with the attestation provided by our independent registered public accounting firm. We will be unable to issue securities in the public markets through the use of a shelf registration statement if we are not in compliance with Section 404. Furthermore, failure to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment could have a material adverse effect on our business and share price and could limit our ability to report our financial results accurately and timely.

Federal, state and local tax rules may adversely impact our results of operations and financial position.

We are subject to federal, state and local taxes in the U.S. If the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or other taxing authority disagrees with the positions we have taken on our tax returns, we could face additional tax liability, including interest and penalties. If material, payment of such additional amounts upon final adjudication of any disputes could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial position. In addition, complying with new tax rules, laws or regulations could impact our financial condition, and increases to federal or state statutory tax rates and other changes in tax laws, rules or regulations may increase our effective tax rate. Any increase in our effective tax rate could have a material impact on our financial results.

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Risks Relating to Ownership of our Common Stock

Although we are no longer a controlled company within the meaning of the Nasdaq Marketplace rules, during the phase-in period we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that provide protection to stockholders of other companies.

After the completion of our IPO, Goode Partners, which is the managing member of Goode Chuy’s Holdings, LLC, continued to control a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock through its ownership of our common stock and its voting power under a voting agreement. Pursuant to the voting agreement (the “Voting Agreement”) entered into among us, Goode Chuy’s Holdings, MY/ZP Equity, LP, Goode Chuy’s Direct Investors LLC, J.P. Morgan U.S. Direct Corporate Finance Institutional Investors III LLC and 522 Fifth Avenue Fund, L.P., the parties agreed to vote or grant us or Goode Chuy’s Holdings a proxy to vote, their shares of our common stock for the election of the directors nominated for election by our nominating and corporate governance committee. The Voting Agreement terminated on January 30, 2013 because the parties to the Voting Agreement no longer held at least 50.1% of the voting power of the Company. As a result, we no longer are a controlled company within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Under the Nasdaq listing requirements, a company that ceases to be a controlled company must comply with the independent board committee requirements as they relate to the nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees on the following phase-in schedule: (1) one independent committee member at the time it ceases to be a controlled company, (2) a majority of independent committee members within 90 days of the date it ceases to be a controlled company and (3) all independent committee members within one year of the date it ceases to be a controlled company. Additionally, the Nasdaq listing requirements provide a 12-month phase-in period from the date a company ceases to be a controlled company to comply with the majority independent board requirement.

As of March 25, 2013, each of our compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee has at least one independent director. We are not currently required to have a majority of independent directors on those committees until April 30, 2013 and we are not required to have fully independent committees until January 30, 2014. Accordingly, our stockholders do not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

During these phase-in periods, our stockholders will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies of which the majority of directors are independent and, if, within the phase-in periods, we are not able to recruit additional directors that would qualify as independent, or otherwise comply with the Nasdaq listing requirements, we may be subject to enforcement actions by Nasdaq. In addition, a change in our board of directors and committee membership may result in a change in corporate strategy and operating philosophies, and may result in deviations from our current growth strategy.

Goode Partners continues to have significant influence over us, including over decisions that require the approval of stockholders, which could limit your ability to influence the outcome of key transactions. Our Founders may also continue to exert significant influence over us.

Investment funds affiliated with Goode Partners beneficially owns approximately 22.7% of our outstanding common stock. Goode Partners continues to strongly influence our decisions, and three of our directors, Joe Ferreira, David Oddi and Michael Stanley, who are affiliated with Goode Partners, will continue to serve on our board of directors. See Item 13. “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”

Our Founders also serve on our board of directors and beneficially own approximately 2.6% of our outstanding common stock. As a result, our Founders may be able to exert significant influence over certain of our decisions.

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We are an emerging growth company and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to obtain an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting from our independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. In addition, we may elect to delay adoption of new or revised accounting pronouncements applicable to public companies until such pronouncements are made applicable to private companies. To the extent we choose to do so, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with such new or revised accounting standards. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

The price of our common stock may be volatile and you could lose all or part of your investment.

From our IPO through March 25, 2013, our share price has ranged from a high of $32.90 per share to a low of $14.33 per share. Volatility in the market price of our common stock may prevent you from being able to sell your shares at or above the price you paid for your shares. The market price of our common stock could fluctuate significantly for various reasons, which include:

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In addition, in recent years, the stock market has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant impact on the market price of securities issued by many companies, including companies in our industry. The price of our common stock could fluctuate based upon factors that have little or nothing to do with our company, and these fluctuations could materially reduce our share price.

In the past, following periods of market volatility in the price of a company’s securities, security holders have often instituted class action litigation. If the market value of our common stock experiences adverse fluctuations and we become involved in this type of litigation, regardless of the outcome, we could incur substantial legal costs and our management’s attention could be diverted from the operation of our business, causing our business to suffer.

Future sales of our common stock in the public market could lower our share price, and the exercise of stock options and any additional capital raised by us through the sale of our common stock may dilute your ownership in us.

Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market by our existing stockholders in future registered public offerings, through transactions except from registration or upon the exercise of outstanding stock options or stock options granted in the future may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Such sales could also create public perception of difficulties or problems with our business. These sales might also make it more difficult for us to sell securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate.

We have reserved 1,250,000 shares of common stock for issuance under the 2012 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan. See Item 11. “Executive Compensation—2012 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan.” As of December 30, 2012, we had 1,052,861 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding options (857,072 of which were fully vested).

As restrictions on resale expire or as shares are registered, our share price could drop significantly if the holders of these restricted or newly registered shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them. These sales might also make it more difficult for us to sell securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.

If securities analysts or industry analysts downgrade our shares, publish negative research or reports, or do not publish reports about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock is influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us, our business and our industry. If one or more analysts adversely change their recommendation regarding our shares or our competitors’ stock, our share price would likely decline. If one or more analysts cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us more difficult, limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management and limit the market price of our common stock.

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as amended and restated, may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or changes in our management. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws include provisions that:

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These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any “interested” stockholder (any stockholder with 15% or more of our capital stock) for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an “interested” stockholder.

Since we do not expect to pay any dividends for the foreseeable future, investors may be forced to sell their stock in order to realize a return on their investment.

Since we do not expect to pay any dividends for the foreseeable future, investors may be forced to sell their shares in order to realize a return on their investment. Other than the dividend paid in connection with entering into our Old Credit Facility, we have not declared or paid any dividends on our common stock. We do not anticipate that we will pay any dividends to holders of our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any payment of cash dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, capital requirements, legal requirements, earnings and other factors. Our ability to pay dividends is restricted by the terms of our New Revolving Credit Facility and might be restricted by the terms of any indebtedness that we incur in the future. Consequently, you should not rely on dividends in order to receive a return on your investment. See Item 5. “Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities—Dividend Policy.”

Our reported financial results may be adversely affected by changes in accounting principles applicable to us.

Our reported financial results may be adversely affected by changes in accounting principles applicable to us. Generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (“GAAP”) are subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the SEC and various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. A change in these principles or interpretations could have a significant effect on our reported financial results, and could affect the reporting of transactions completed before the announcement of a change. In addition, the SEC has announced a multi-year plan that could ultimately lead to the use of International Financial Reporting Standards by U.S. issuers in their SEC filings. Any such change could have a significant effect on our reported financial results.

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Our ability to raise capital in the future may be limited.

Our ability to raise capital in the future may be limited. Our business and operations may consume resources faster than we anticipate. In the future, we may need to raise additional funds through the issuance of new equity securities, debt or a combination of both. Additional financing may not be available on favorable terms, or at all. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to fund our capital requirements. If we issue new debt securities, the debt holders would have rights senior to common stockholders to make claims on our assets, and the terms of any debt could restrict our operations, including our ability to pay dividends on our common stock. If we issue additional equity securities, existing shareholders will experience dilution, and the new equity securities could have rights senior to those of our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, our stockholders bear the risk of our future securities offerings, diluting their interest and reducing the market price of our common stock.

Conflicts of interest may arise because some of our directors are principals of our principal stockholders.

Representatives of Goode Partners and our Founders occupy a majority of the seats on our board of directors. Goode Partners is in the business of making investments in companies and may acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. Goode Partners may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. Our Founders could also invest in entities that directly or indirectly compete with us. As a result of these relationships, when conflicts arise between the interests of Goode Partners and our Founders and the interests of our stockholders, these directors may not be disinterested.

ITEM 1B:    UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None

ITEM 2:    PROPERTIES

As of March 25, 2013, we operated 41 Chuy’s restaurants located in the following states:

As of March 25, 2013 we have also signed leases and are in development for 7 additional restaurants in Little Rock, Arkansas; Orlando, Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina; Greenville, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia and Sugarland, Texas.

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We lease all of the land, parking lots and buildings used in our restaurant operations under various long-term operating lease agreements. For additional information regarding our obligations under our leases, see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Commitments and Contingencies.”

All of our leases provide for base (fixed) rent, plus the majority provide for additional rent based on gross sales (as defined in each lease agreement) in excess of a stipulated amount, multiplied by a stated percentage. A significant percentage of our leases also provide for periodic escalation of minimum annual rent either based upon increases in the Consumer Price Index or a pre-determined schedule. The initial lease terms range from 10 to 20 years, with renewal options for 5 to 20 additional years. Typically, our leases are 10 or 15 years in length with 2 to 3, 5-year extension options. The initial terms of our leases currently expire between 2016 and 2032. We are also generally obligated to pay certain real estate taxes, insurances, common area maintenance charges and various other expenses related to the properties. Our corporate headquarters is also leased and is located at 1623 Toomey Road, Austin, Texas 78704. For additional information about certain facilities, including our corporate headquarters and six of our restaurant locations, we rent from related parties, see Item 13. “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”

ITEM 3:    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Occasionally we are a party to various legal actions arising in the ordinary course of our business including claims resulting from “slip and fall” accidents, employment related claims and claims from customers or employees alleging illness, injury or other food quality, health or operational concerns. None of these types of litigation, most of which are covered by insurance, has had a material effect on us, and as of December 30, 2012, we are not a party to any material pending legal proceedings and are not aware of any claims that could have a materially adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

ITEM 4:    MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

None

PART II

ITEM 5:    MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

Our common shares have been traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “CHUY” since July 24, 2012. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales prices of our common stock, as reported by the Nasdaq Global Select Market:

On March 25, 2013, the closing price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market was $31.25 per share.

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Holders

As of March 25, 2013, there were approximately 13 holders of record of our common stock. The number of holders of record is based upon the actual numbers of holders registered at such date and does not include holders of shares in “street name” or persons, partnerships, associates, corporations or other entities in security position listings maintained by depositories.

Dividend Policy

During the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012 we did not declare or pay any dividends on our common stock. During the fiscal year ended December 25, 2011 we declared and paid a one-time dividend of $1.75 per share on shares of our common stock and our series A preferred stock, series B preferred stock and series X preferred stock, totaling $19.0 million. We paid this dividend as a partial return of capital to our stockholders. We currently expect to retain all available funds and future earnings, if any, for use in the operation and growth of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, operating results, capital requirements and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant. In addition, in certain circumstances, our New Revolving Credit Facility restricts our ability to pay dividends. For additional information, see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Stock Performance Chart

The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return on our common stock from July 24, 2012 through December 30, 2012 to that of the total return of the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 600 Restaurants Index. The comparison assumes $100 was invested in Chuy’s common stock on July 24, 2012 and in each of the forgoing indices on July 24, 2012 and assumes the reinvestment of dividends. This graph is furnished and not filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in any of our pervious filings made under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that incorporate future filings made by us under those statutes, the above stock performance graph is not to be incorporated by reference in any prior filings, nor shall it be incorporated by reference into any future filings made by us under those statutes.

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ITEM 6: SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following selected consolidated financial and operating data for each of the five fiscal years in the period ended December 30, 2012 are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. Not all periods shown below are discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This selected consolidated financial and operating data should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and other financial information included elsewhere in the Annual Report on Form 10-K. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of future performance.

(1) We utilize a 52- or 53-week accounting period which ends on the last Sunday of the calendar year. The fiscal ended December 30, 2012 was comprised of 53 weeks and the other four fiscal years were comprised of 52 weeks.

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ITEM 7:  MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Item 6. “Selected Financial Data” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes to those statements included in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” The following discussion contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements that include risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those set forth under the heading Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report.

General

We are a fast-growing, full-service restaurant concept offering a distinct menu of authentic, freshly-prepared Mexican and Tex Mex inspired food. We were founded in Austin, Texas in 1982 and as of March 25, 2013, we operated 41 Chuy’s restaurants across Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Indiana, Georgia, Oklahoma and Florida.

We are committed to providing value to our customers through offering generous portions of made-from-scratch, flavorful Mexican and Tex Mex inspired dishes. We also offer a full-service bar in all of our restaurants providing our customers a wide variety of beverage offerings. We believe the Chuy’s culture is one of our most valuable assets, and we are committed to preserving and continually investing in our culture and our customers’ restaurant experience.

Our restaurants have a common décor, but we believe each location is unique in format, offering an “unchained” look and feel, as expressed by our motto “If you’ve seen one Chuy’s, you’ve seen one Chuy’s!” We believe our restaurants have an upbeat, funky, eclectic, somewhat irreverent atmosphere while still maintaining a family-friendly environment. For additional information on our restaurants, see Item 1. “Business.”

Our Growth Strategies and Outlook

Our growth is based primarily on the following strategies:

We opened eight restaurants in 2012. We have opened two restaurants as of March 25, 2013 and plan to open an additional six to seven restaurants in 2013. From January 1, 2013 to the end of 2017, we expect to open a total of 59 to 64 new restaurants. We have an established presence in Texas, the Southeast and the Midwest, with restaurants in multiple large markets in these regions. Our growth plan over the next five years focuses on developing additional locations in our existing core markets, new core markets and in smaller markets surrounding each of those core markets. For additional discussion of our growth strategies and outlook, see Item 1. “Business—Our Business Strategies.”

Performance Indicators

We use the following performance indicators in evaluating our performance:

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Our Fiscal Year

We operate on a 52- or 53-week fiscal year that ends on the last Sunday of the calendar year. Each quarterly period has 13 weeks, except for a 53-week year when the fourth quarter has 14 weeks. Our 2012 fiscal year consisted of 53 weeks and our 2011 and 2010 fiscal years each consisted of 52 weeks.

Key Financial Definitions

Revenue. Revenue primarily consists of food and beverage sales and also includes sales of our t-shirts, sweatshirts and hats. Revenue is presented net of discounts, such as management and employee meals, associated with each sale. Revenue in a given period is directly influenced by the number of operating weeks in such period, the number of restaurants we operate and comparable restaurant sales growth.

Cost of Sales. Cost of sales consists primarily of food, beverage and merchandise related costs. The components of cost of sales are variable in nature, change with sales volume and are subject to increases or decreases based on fluctuations in commodity costs.

Labor Costs. Labor costs include restaurant management salaries, front- and back-of-house hourly wages and restaurant-level manager bonus expense, employee benefits and payroll taxes.

Operating Costs. Operating costs consist primarily of restaurant-related operating expenses, such as supplies, utilities, repairs and maintenance, travel cost, insurance, credit card fees, recruiting, delivery service and security. These costs generally increase with sales volume but decline as a percentage of revenue.

Occupancy Costs. Occupancy costs include rent charges, both fixed and variable, as well as common area maintenance costs, property insurance and taxes, the amortization of tenant allowances and the adjustment to straight-line rent. These costs are generally fixed but a portion may vary with an increase in sales when the lease contains percentage rent.

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General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses include costs associated with corporate and administrative functions that support our operations, including senior and supervisory management and staff compensation (including stock-based compensation) and benefits, travel, financial advisory fees paid to Goode Partners prior to termination of the advisory agreement with Goode Partners, legal and professional fees, information systems, corporate office rent and other related corporate costs. As a public company, we expect our stock-based compensation expense to increase. In addition, we estimate that we will incur approximately $1.3 million to $1.6 million of incremental general and administrative expenses annually as a result of being a public company.

Marketing. Marketing costs include costs associated with our local restaurant marketing programs, community service and sponsorship activities, our menus and other promotional activities.

Restaurant Pre-opening Costs. Restaurant pre-opening costs consist of costs incurred before opening a restaurant, including manager salaries, relocation costs, supplies, recruiting expenses, initial new market public relations costs, pre-opening activities, employee payroll and related training costs for new employees. Restaurant pre-opening costs also include rent recorded during the period between date of possession and the restaurant opening date.

Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization principally include depreciation on fixed assets, including equipment and leasehold improvements, and amortization of certain intangible assets for restaurants.

Interest Expense. Interest expense consists primarily of interest on our outstanding indebtedness and the amortization of our debt issuance costs reduced by capitalized interest.

Results of Operations

The following table presents the consolidated statement of operations for the years ended December 30, 2012, December 25, 2011 and December 26, 2010 expressed as percentages of revenue.

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Year Ended December 30, 2012 (53 Weeks) Compared to Year Ended December 25, 2011 (52 Weeks)

Revenue. Revenue increased $42.0 million, or 32.2%, to $172.6 million for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012 compared to $130.6 million for the fiscal year ended December 25, 2011. The Company’s fiscal year 2012 included 53 weeks compared to 52 weeks in fiscal year 2011. Revenues in fiscal year 2012 attributed to the extra week totaled approximately $3.3 million. Excluding the extra week, the increase in sales was primarily driven by $36.9 million in incremental revenue from an additional 446 operating weeks provided by 16 new restaurants opened during and subsequent to fiscal year 2011. Comparable restaurant sales increased 2.8% during the year for the 52-week period ended December 23, 2012 compared to the 52-week period ended December 25, 2011. Comparable restaurant sales were positively impacted by an extra 1.5 operating days in fiscal 2012 as a result of the Company’s restaurant closing schedule on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day during the 52-week period of 2011. Excluding the impact of the extra 1.5 days, comparable restaurant sales increased 2.2%, which was driven by a 1.4% increase in average check and a 0.8% increase in average weekly customers. Revenues from alcoholic beverages were approximately 19.2% of total revenues for fiscal 2012.

Cost of Sales. Cost of sales as a percentage of revenue decreased to 26.9% during the year ended December 30, 2012, from 27.7% during the same period in 2011. This percentage decrease resulted primarily from price decreases in produce costs and, to a lesser degree, decreases in dairy and bar costs, partially offset by increases in grocery, beef and chicken costs.

Labor Costs. Labor costs as a percentage of revenue, increased to 32.0% during the year ended December 30, 2012, from 31.8% during the same period in 2011, primarily as a result of increased training and staffing levels at our new restaurants, partially offset by improved labor efficiencies in our comparable restaurants.

Operating Costs. Operating costs as a percentage of revenue, decreased to 14.2% during the year ended December 30, 2012, from 14.8% during the same period in 2011, primarily attributable to lower liquor taxes as a result of opening more locations outside of Texas, which charges a higher liquor tax than other jurisdictions and lower utility costs and credit card fees. The reduction was partially offset by an increase in workers compensation insurance premiums as of result of opening more new locations outside the state of Texas.

Occupancy Costs. Occupancy costs as a percentage of revenue, increased to 6.0% during the year ended December 30, 2012, from 5.8% during the same period in 2011 primarily attributable to higher common area expenses as well as higher rent expense as a percentage of revenue for certain noncomparable restaurants.

General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses increased $1.9 million, or 25.1%, to $9.4 million for the year ended December 30, 2012, as compared to $7.5 million for the comparable period in 2011. This increase was primarily driven by a $1.8 million increase in salary and bonus expense associated with additional employees as we continue to strengthen our infrastructure for future growth and an increase in performance based bonuses as a result of our stronger overall profitability for the year. Additionally, this increase was a result of incremental costs associated with operating as a public company. The general and administrative expense for the year ended December 25, 2011 included a one-time cash bonus totaling $1.0 million paid to members of management in May 2011 in conjunction with the refinancing of our credit facility. As a percentage of revenue, general and administrative expenses decreased to 5.4% for the year ended December 30, 2012, as compared to 5.7% for the same period in 2011 (4.9% before the one-time bonus payment). We expect general and administrative expenses to increase as we continue to strengthen our infrastructure. However, we expect that general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue will continue to decrease due to operating leverage.

Advisory Agreement Termination Fee. On March 21, 2012, we paid a $2.0 million termination fee to terminate our advisory agreement with Goode Partners. We paid the termination fee using the

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proceeds from our additional borrowings of $25.0 million under our Old Credit Facility. See Note 6 in our consolidated audited financials for further discussion.

Secondary Offering Costs. In fiscal 2012, we incurred $228,000 of offering expenses related to a secondary offering of the Company’s common stock that was completed in January 2013. All of the stock in the offering was sold by certain existing shareholders and as a result, the Company did not receive any proceeds from the offering. We expect to incur approximately an additional $320,000 of expenses related to the secondary offering in the first quarter of 2013.

Marketing Costs. As a percentage of revenue, marketing costs remained flat at approximately 0.8% for the years ended December 30, 2012 and December 25, 2011. Our marketing costs in a particular period are generally limited to the period’s proportionate amount of our marketing budget of 0.8% of sales.

Restaurant Pre-Opening Costs. Restaurant pre-opening costs remained flat at $3.4 million for the years ended December 30, 2012 and December 25, 2011, due to eight restaurants being developed in both 2012 and 2011.

Depreciation and Amortization. As a percentage of revenue, depreciation and amortization expenses increased to 3.7% for the year ended December 30, 2012 from 3.4% for the year ended December 25, 2011. This increase is primarily related to the increase in equipment and leasehold improvement costs related to new restaurant openings, which is partially offset by restaurant equipment becoming fully depreciated in some of our older restaurants.

Loss on Extinguishment of Debt. In fiscal 2012, we recorded a $1.6 million write off of loan origination costs associated with the pay down of $79.4 million of borrowings under our Old Credit Facility with proceeds from our IPO. In addition, on November 30, 2012 we recorded a $0.1 million write off of loan origination costs associated with the termination of our Old Credit Facility.

Interest Expense. Interest expense decreased $0.4 million for the year ended December 30, 2012, as compared to the year ended December 25, 2011. This decrease was due to a reduction in the average effective interest rate on our outstanding borrowings during the year ended December 30, 2012, as compared to the same period December 25, 2011, offset by greater average outstanding borrowings. The interest rate reduction was associated with the refinancings of our Old Credit Facility we completed in May of 2011 and in November of 2012. On November 30, 2012, we entered into a $25.0 million secured revolving credit facility (the “New Revolving Credit Facility”) and borrowed $5.0 million under the facility to repay approximately $5.0 million of outstanding debt remaining under our Old Credit Facility and to pay closing fees for the New Revolving Credit Facility. Under our New Revolving Credit Facility, we elected a variable rate of interest based on LIBOR. As of December 30, 2012, we had an interest rate of 2.1% on our New Revolving Credit Facility as compared to an interest rate of 7.0% under our Old Credit Facility.

Income Tax Expense. Our effective tax rate decreased to 29.1% for the year ended December 30, 2012 from 32.1% for the year ended December 25, 2011. The decrease in the effective tax rate for the year ended December 30, 2012 is primarily attributable to lower state and local income taxes. The effective tax rates differ from the statutory rate of 34.0% primarily due to payroll tax credits attributable to payroll taxes paid on employee tips and various state and local income taxes.

Net Income. Net income increased $2.0 million to $5.5 million for the year ended December 30, 2012 compared to $3.5 million for the year ended December 25, 2011. We had net income available to common stockholders of approximately $3.3 million for the year ended December 30, 2012 as compared to net income available to common stockholders of approximately $41,000 in the comparable period in 2011. This change in net income available to common stockholders was primarily related to the conversion of our preferred stock to common stock immediately prior to the IPO.

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Year Ended December 25, 2011 Compared to Year Ended December 26, 2010

Revenue. Revenue increased $35.7 million, or 37.6%, to $130.6 million in 2011 from $94.9 million in 2010. This increase was driven by $33.3 million in additional revenue related to an additional 387 operating weeks provided by the eight new restaurants opened in 2011 and the full year of operations of the six restaurants opened in 2010. Additionally, during this period, comparable restaurant sales increased 3.1% over the same period the prior year. Of this 3.1% increase, 1.1% of the increase resulted from an increase in average weekly customers and 2.0% of the increase resulted from an increase in our average check. The mix of our revenue attributed to food, bar and merchandise sales remained consistent at approximately 79.3%, 19.7% and 1.1% of total revenue for 2011, respectively.

Cost of Sales. Cost of sales increased $10.5 million, or 41.0%, to $36.1 million in fiscal 2011, from $25.6 million in fiscal 2010. As a percentage of revenue, cost of sales increased to 27.7% in 2011 compared to 27.0% in 2010. The increase in cost of sales as a percentage of revenue primarily resulted from our increase in food costs during 2011 as a result of significant price increases in certain of our key products such as produce, dairy and cheese.

Labor Costs. Labor costs increased $11.1 million, or 36.5%, to $41.5 million in 2011, from $30.4 million in 2010. This increase was a result of an additional $11.4 million of labor costs incurred with respect to eight new restaurants opened during 2011 and the full year of operations of the six restaurants opened in 2010, as well as increases in support staff at our existing restaurants. As a percentage of revenue, labor costs decreased to 31.8% in 2011 from 32.0% in 2010, primarily as a result of improved labor efficiency in our established restaurants, partially offset by increased training and staffing levels at our new restaurants.

Operating Costs. Operating costs increased $5.0 million, or 35.0%, to $19.3 million in 2011, from $14.3 million in 2010. This increase was primarily due to increases in costs with respect to eight new restaurants opened during 2011 and the full year of operations of the six restaurants opened in 2010. As a percentage of revenue, operating costs decreased to 14.8% in 2011 compared to 15.1% in 2010 as a result of operating leverage.

Occupancy Costs. Occupancy costs increased $1.9 million, or 33.3%, to $7.6 million in 2011, from $5.7 million in 2010. This increase resulted from eight new restaurants opened in 2011 and the full year of operations of the six new restaurants opened in 2010. As a percentage of revenue, occupancy costs decreased to 5.8% in 2011 as compared to 6.0% in 2010 as a result of operating leverage.

General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses increased $2.2 million, or 41.5%, to $7.5 million in 2011 from $5.3 million for 2010. This increase was driven primarily by a one-time cash bonus totaling $1.0 million paid to members of management in May 2011 in conjunction with entering into our Old Credit Facility and costs associated with additional employees as we continue to strengthen our infrastructure for future growth. As a percentage of revenue, general and administrative expenses increased to 5.7% in 2011 from 5.6% in 2010.

Settlement with Former Director. Settlement with a former director was $0.2 million in 2011. We paid this one-time settlement fee in June 2011. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Settlement Agreement.”

Marketing Costs. As a percentage of revenue, marketing costs increased from 0.7% to 0.8%. Our marketing costs in a particular period are generally targeted not to exceed the period’s proportionate amount of our marketing budget of 0.8% of sales.

Restaurant Pre-opening Costs. Restaurant pre-opening costs increased by $1.4 million, or 70.0%, to $3.4 million in 2011 from $2.0 million in 2010. The increase resulted primarily from opening eight new restaurants in 2011, as compared to six new restaurants in 2010. The increase in 2011 was also due in part to the increase in restaurant pre-opening costs associated with opening restaurants outside of Texas, which resulted in increases in training and travel expenses and the incurrence of expenses for management relocation and public relations services.

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Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization increased $1.7 million, or 63.0%, from $2.7 million to $4.4 million, due to an increase in equipment and leasehold improvements with respect to eight new restaurants opened during 2011 and the full year of operations of the six restaurants opened in 2010. As a percentage of revenue, depreciation and amortization expenses increased to 3.4% in 2011, as compared to 2.9% in 2010.

Interest Expense. Interest expense increased $0.7 million, or 19.4%, to $4.3 million in 2011 from $3.6 million in 2010. The increase was due to greater average outstanding borrowings offset by a reduction in the average effective interest rate under our credit facilities during 2011, as compared to 2010.

Income Tax Expense. Income tax expense increased $0.2 million, or 14.2%, to $1.6 million in 2011 from $1.4 million in 2010. For the year ended December 25, 2011, the effective tax rate was 32.1% as compared to 30.3% for the year ended December 26, 2010. The effective tax rate differs from the statutory rate of 34.0% primarily due to tax credits attributable to payroll taxes on employee tips.

Net Income. As a result of the foregoing, net income increased $0.2 million, to $3.5 million for fiscal year 2011 from $3.3 million for fiscal year 2010. Net income available to common stockholders increased $2.4 million to $41,000 for fiscal year 2011 from $(2.3) million for fiscal year 2010. This increase in net income available to common stockholders resulted from the decrease in undistributed earnings allocated to participating interest, which included the original issuance price of the series X preferred stock and the annualized return.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal sources of cash are net cash provided by operating activities, which includes tenant improvement allowances from our landlords, and borrowings under our credit facilities. During fiscal years ended December 30, 2012 and December 25, 2011, we utilized borrowings under our Old Credit Facility, which we entered into on May 24, 2011. On March 21, 2012, we entered into a credit facility amendment to increase the available amount under our Old Credit Facility from $67.5 million to $92.5 million. On April 6, 2012, we used approximately $22.5 million of cash and cash equivalents obtained from the increased credit facility to repurchase shares of our common stock, series A preferred stock, series B preferred stock, and series X preferred stock. On July 27, 2012, we closed our IPO of 6,708,332 shares of common stock at $13.00 per share and received net proceeds of approximately $78.1 million (after offering expenses). These net proceeds and additional Company funds were used to repay approximately $79.4 million of our outstanding debt under our Old Credit Facility leaving an outstanding balance of approximately $5.0 million under the Term A Loan of our Old Credit Facility. On November 30, 2012, we entered into our New Revolving Credit Facility and borrowed $5.0 million thereunder to repay the debt outstanding under our Old Credit Facility and to pay fees and expenses associated with our New Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 30, 2012, we had $5.0 million of outstanding indebtedness under our New Revolving Credit Facility.

Our need for capital resources is driven by our restaurant expansion plans, ongoing maintenance of our restaurants, investment in our corporate and information technology infrastructure, obligations under our operating leases and interest payments on our debt. Based on our current growth plans, we believe our expected cash flows from operations, expected tenant improvement allowances and available borrowings under our New Revolving Credit Facility will be sufficient to finance our planned capital expenditures and other operating activities for the next twelve months.

Consistent with many other restaurant and retail chain store operations, we use operating lease arrangements for our restaurants. We believe that these operating lease arrangements provide appropriate leverage of our capital structure in a financially efficient manner. We have entered into operating leases with certain related parties with respect to six of our restaurants and our corporate headquarters. See Item 13. “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence” for additional information about these operating leases. Currently, operating lease obligations are not reflected as indebtedness on our consolidated balance sheet.

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Our liquidity may be adversely affected by a number of factors, including a decrease in customer traffic or average check per customer due to changes in economic conditions, as described in Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”

Cash Flows

The following table summarizes the statement of cash flows for the years ended December 30, 2012, December 25, 2011 and December 26, 2010 (amounts in thousands):

Operating Activities. Net cash provided by operating activities was $24.5 million in 2012, compared to $17.2 million in 2011 and $11.8 million in 2010. The net cash provided by operating activities increased $7.3 million in 2012, as compared to 2011. This increase was primarily due to an increase in net income of $2.0 million, an increase in accrued liabilities of $1.1 million and an increase in accounts payable of $1.2 million as compared to the prior year and higher non-cash costs of $3.3 million, including a write off of loan origination fees of $1.7 million. The increase in net cash provided by operating activities in 2011, as compared to 2010 was $5.4 million. This increase was primarily due to a $1.7 million increase in lease incentives, as compared to prior year and higher non-cash costs, such as depreciation and amortization and deferred income taxes.

Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities was $27.2 million in 2012, $20.7 million in 2011 and $16.6 million in 2010. We used cash primarily to purchase property and equipment and to make leasehold improvements related to our restaurant expansion plans. The fluctuations in net cash used in investing activities for the periods presented is directly related to the number of new restaurants opened and in development during each period. In fiscal 2012, we opened eight new restaurants and, in fiscal years 2011 and 2010, opened eight and six restaurants, respectively.

Financing Activities. Net cash provided by financing activities was $5.8 million in 2012, $3.0 million in 2011 and $6.2 million in 2010. On March 21, 2012, we entered into a credit facility amendment. In connection with the credit facility amendment, we borrowed an additional $25.0 million under our Term A Loan facility. We used the proceeds to (1) repurchase approximately $22.5 million of our common stock and preferred stock on April 6, 2012, (2) pay a $2.0 million termination fee to terminate the advisory agreement with Goode Partners and (3) pay approximately $0.6 million of transaction costs related to the credit facility amendment and the repurchase of shares of our common and preferred stock. Additionally during 2012, we borrowed $4.5 million under our delayed draw Term B Loan to fund new restaurant capital expenditures and to repay $2.3 million outstanding under our revolving credit facility. On July 27, 2012, we closed our IPO of 6,708,332 shares of common stock at $13.00 per share and received net proceeds of approximately $78.1 million (after offering expenses). These net proceeds and additional Company funds were used to repay approximately $79.4 million of our outstanding debt leaving an outstanding balance of approximately $5.0 million under our Old Credit Facility. On November 30, 2012, we entered into our New Revolving

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Credit Facility and borrowed $5.0 million thereunder to repay all the debt outstanding under our Old Credit Facility and to pay fees and expenses associated with our New Revolving Credit Facility. Net cash provided by financing activities was $3.0 million in 2011 as compared to $6.2 million in 2010. On May 24, 2011, we replaced our $20.0 million credit facility with Wells Fargo Capital Finance, Inc. (“Wells Fargo Credit Facility”) and $10.0 million credit facility with HBK Investments L.P. (“HBK Credit Facility”) with our Old Credit Facility, a $67.5 million senior secured credit facility with GCI Capital Markets, General Electric Capital Corporation and a syndicate of other financial institutions. Among other things, we used the proceeds from our Old Credit Facility to repay the Wells Fargo Credit Facility and the HBK Credit Facility, to pay a $19.0 million dividend to our stockholders and to pay a $1.0 million special one-time cash bonus to certain members of our management. Net cash provided by financing activities in 2010 was primarily the result of $5.0 million in proceeds from the sale of our series X preferred stock in May 2010 and $0.4 million in proceeds from the sale of our common stock in December 2010 and $0.8 million in borrowings under our long-term debt facilities. For additional information about the sales of our securities during 2010, see Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements.

Capital Expenditures

Long-Term Capital Requirements. Our capital requirements are primarily dependent upon the pace of our growth plan and resulting new restaurants. Our growth plan is dependent upon many factors, including economic conditions, real estate markets, restaurant locations and the nature of our lease agreements. Our capital expenditure outlays are also dependent on costs for maintenance and capacity additions in our existing restaurants as well as information technology and other general corporate capital expenditures.

The capital resources required for a new restaurant depend on whether the restaurant is a ground-up construction or a conversion. We estimate that each ground-up restaurant will require a total cash investment of $1.7 million to $2.5 million (net of estimated tenant improvement allowances of between zero and $0.8 million). We estimate that each conversion will require a total cash investment of $2.0 million to $2.2 million. In addition to the cost of the conversion or ground-up buildout, we expect to spend approximately $350,000 to $400,000 per restaurant for restaurant pre-opening costs. We target a cash-on-cash return beginning in the third operating year of 40.0%, and a sales to investment ratio of 2:1 for our new restaurants. On average, returns on units opened since 2001 have exceeded these target returns in the second year of operations.

For 2013, we currently estimate capital expenditures will range between $19.1 million and $21.2 million, net of agreed upon tenant improvement allowances and excluding approximately $3.3 million to $3.7 million of restaurant pre-opening costs for new restaurants that are not capitalized. These capital expenditure estimates are based on average new restaurant capital expenditures of $2.1 million each for the opening of eight to nine new restaurants as well as $2.3 million to improve our existing restaurants and for general corporate purposes.

Based on our growth plans, we believe our combined expected cash flows from operations, available borrowings under our New Revolving Credit Facility and expected tenant improvement allowances will be sufficient to finance our planned capital expenditures and other operating activities in fiscal 2013.

Short-Term Capital Requirements. Our operations have not required significant working capital and, like many restaurant companies, we generally operate with negative working capital. Restaurant sales are primarily paid for in cash or by credit card, and restaurant operations do not require significant inventories or receivables. In addition, we receive trade credit for the purchase of food, beverages and supplies, therefore reducing the need for incremental working capital to support growth. We had a net working capital deficit of $2.7 million at December 30, 2012, compared to a net working capital deficit of $4.3 million at December 25, 2011.

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Initial Public Offering

On July 27, 2012, we completed our IPO of our common stock. We issued 6,708,332 shares, including 874,999 shares sold to the underwriters pursuant to their overallotment option. We received net proceeds from the offering of approximately $78.1 million (after estimated offering expenses). We used the net proceeds with additional Company funds to repay $79.4 million of indebtedness under our Old Credit Facility.

Credit Facilities

On November 30, 2012, we entered into our $25.0 million New Revolving Credit Facility with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association. On the same date, we borrowed $5.0 million under our New Revolving Credit Facility to repay the approximately $5.0 million of debt outstanding under our Old Credit Facility and to pay fees and expenses associated with our New Revolving Credit Facility. In connection with the repayment of the approximately $5.0 million of debt outstanding under our Old Credit Facility, we terminated our Old Credit Facility. As of December 30, 2012 we had $5.0 million of outstanding indebtedness under our New Revolving Credit Facility. Our New Revolving Credit Facility will mature on November 30, 2017.

Under our New Revolving Credit Facility, we may request to increase the size of our New Revolving Credit Facility by up to $25.0 million, in minimum principal amounts of $5.0 million or the remaining amount of the $25.0 million if less than $5.0 million (the “Incremental Revolving Loan”), which Incremental Revolving Loan will be effective after 10 days written notice to the agent. In the event that any of the lenders fund the Incremental Revolving Loan, the terms and provisions of the Incremental Revolving Loan will be the same as under our New Revolving Credit Facility.

Borrowings under the New Revolving Credit Facility generally bear interest at a variable rate based upon our election, of (i) the base rate (which is the highest of the prime rate, federal funds rate plus 0.50% or one month LIBOR) plus 1%, or (ii) LIBOR, plus, in either case, an applicable margin based on our consolidated total lease adjusted leverage ratio (as defined in the New Revolving Credit Facility agreement). Our New Revolving Credit Facility also requires payment for commitment fees that accrue on the daily unused commitment of the lender at the applicable margin, which varies based on our consolidated total lease adjusted leverage ratio. As of December 30, 2012 our interest rate was 2.1%. The new revolving line of credit also requires compliance with a fixed charge coverage ratio, a lease adjusted leverage ratio and certain non-financial covenants.

As of December 30, 2012 we were in compliance with all covenants under our New Revolving Credit Facility. Based on our capital expenditure plans, contractual commitments and cash flow from operations, we expect to be able to comply with these covenants for the duration of the loan.

On May 24, 2011, we entered into our Old Credit Facility, a $67.5 million senior credit facility with GCI Capital Markets LLC, General Electric Capital Corporation, as syndication agent, and a syndicate of financial institutions and other entities. The Old Credit Facility provided for (a) a revolving credit facility, (b) a Term A Loan, (c) a delayed draw Term B Loan, and (d) an incremental term loan. Except for the incremental term loan, all borrowings under our Old Credit Facility bore interest at a variable rate based on the prime, federal funds or LIBOR rate plus an applicable margin based on our total leverage ratio as defined the Old Credit Facility agreement.

On March 21, 2012, we entered into a credit facility amendment to increase the available amount under our Old Credit Facility from $67.5 million to $92.5 million.

In connection with the completion of our IPO, we repaid $79.4 million of indebtedness related to the amended Old Credit Facility.

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Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

As part of our on-going business, we do not participate in transactions that generate relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities referred to as structured finance or variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes. As of December 30, 2012, we are not involved in any variable interest entities transactions and do not otherwise have any off-balance sheet arrangements.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

The following table summarizes contractual obligations at December 30, 2012 on an actual basis.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Preparing consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses. These estimates and assumptions are affected by the application of our accounting policies. Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. Critical accounting estimates are those that require application of management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of matters that are inherently uncertain and may change in subsequent periods. While we apply our judgment based on assumptions believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, actual results could vary from these assumptions. It is possible that materially different amounts would be reported using different assumptions. The following is a description of what we consider to be our most significant critical accounting policies.

Leases. We currently lease all of our restaurant locations. We evaluate each lease to determine its appropriate classification as an operating or capital lease for financial reporting purposes. All of our existing leases are classified as operating leases. We record the minimum lease payments for our operating leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term, including option periods which in the

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judgment of management are reasonably assured of renewal. The lease term commences on the date that we obtain control of the property, which is normally when the property is ready for tenant improvements. Contingent rent expense is based on either a percentage of restaurant sales or as a percentage of restaurant sales in excess of a defined amount. We use sales trends to estimate achievement of these defined amounts. We accrue contingent rent expense based on these estimated sales. Our lease costs will change based on the lease terms of our lease renewals as well as leases that we enter into with respect to our new restaurants.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets. We review long-lived assets, such as property and equipment and intangibles, subject to amortization, for impairment when events or circumstances indicate the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. In determining the recoverability of the asset value, an analysis is performed at the individual restaurant level and primarily includes an assessment of historical cash flows and other relevant factors and circumstances. The other factors and circumstances include changes in the economic environment, changes in the manner in which assets are used, unfavorable changes in legal factors or business climate, incurring excess costs in construction of the asset, overall restaurant operating performance and projections for future performance. These estimates result in a wide range of variability on a year to year basis due to the nature of the criteria. Negative restaurant-level cash flow over the previous 12-month period is considered a potential impairment indicator. In such situations, we evaluate future undiscounted cash flow projections in conjunction with qualitative factors and future operating plans. Our impairment assessment process requires the use of estimates and assumptions regarding future undiscounted cash flows and operating outcomes, which are based upon a significant degree of management’s judgment.

Based on this analysis, if the carrying amount of the assets is less than the estimated future undiscounted cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized by the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair value. In performing our impairment testing, we forecast our future undiscounted cash flows by looking at recent restaurant level performance, restaurant level operating plans, sales trends, and cost trends for cost of sales, labor and operating expenses. We believe that this combination of information gives us a fair benchmark to estimate future undiscounted cash flows. We compare this cash flow forecast to the asset’s carrying value at the restaurant. If the predicted future undiscounted cash flow does not exceed the long-lived asset’s carrying value, we impair the assets related to that restaurant on a pro-rata basis of the relative carrying values of the long-lived assets.

Continued economic deterioration within our respective markets may adversely impact consumer discretionary spending and may result in lower restaurant sales. Unfavorable fluctuations in our commodity costs, supply costs and labor rates, which may or may not be within our control, may also impact our operating margins. Any of these factors could as a result affect the estimates used in our impairment analysis and require additional impairment tests and charges to earnings. We continue to assess the performance of our restaurants and monitor the need for future impairment. There can be no assurance that future impairment tests will not result in additional charges to earnings.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. Goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets are not amortized but are tested annually on the first day of the fourth quarter, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the assets might be impaired. In assessing the recoverability of goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets, the Company must make assumptions about the estimated future cash flows and other factors to determine the fair value of these assets.

For goodwill, the impairment evaluation includes a comparison of the carrying value of the reporting unit (including goodwill) to that reporting unit’s fair value. If the reporting unit’s estimated fair value exceeds the reporting unit’s carrying value, no impairment of goodwill exists. If the fair value of the reporting unit does not exceed the unit’s carrying value, then an additional analysis is performed to allocate the fair value of the reporting unit to all of the assets and liabilities of that unit as if that unit had been acquired in a business combination and the fair value of the unit was the purchase price. If the

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excess of the fair value of the reporting unit over the fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities is less than the carrying value of the unit’s goodwill, an impairment charge is recorded for the difference.

Similarly, the impairment evaluation for indefinite life intangible assets includes a comparison of the asset’s carrying value to the asset’s fair value. Fair value is estimated primarily using future discounted cash flow projections in conjunction with qualitative factors and future operating plans. When the carrying value exceeds fair value, an impairment charge is recorded for the amount of the difference. An intangible asset is determined to have an indefinite useful life when there are no legal, regulatory, contractual, competitive, economic or other factors that may limit the period over which the asset is expected to contribute directly or indirectly to the future cash flows of the Company. The Company also annually evaluates intangible assets that are not being amortized to determine whether events and circumstances continue to support an indefinite useful life. If an intangible asset that is not being amortized is determined to have a finite useful life, the asset will be amortized prospectively over the estimated remaining useful life and accounted for in the same manner as intangible assets subject to amortization.

At December 30, 2012 none of the Company’s intangible assets or goodwill were impaired.

Income Taxes. Income tax provisions consist of federal and state taxes currently due, plus deferred taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Deferred tax assets are recognized when management considers the realization of those assets in future periods to be more likely than not. Future taxable income, adjustments in temporary difference, available carryforward periods and changes in tax laws could affect these estimates.

Stock-Based Compensation. Compensation cost for stock options granted is determined based on the fair value of the option at the date of grant and is recognized, net of estimated forfeitures, over the award’s requisite service period on a straight-line basis. We use the Black-Scholes valuation model to determine the fair value of our stock options, which requires assumptions to be made regarding our stock price volatility, the expected life of the award, risk-free interest rate, and expected dividend rates. The volatility assumptions were derived from the volatilities of comparable public restaurant companies. If factors change and we employ different assumptions, stock-based compensation expense may differ significantly from what we have recorded in the past. If there is a difference between the assumptions used in determining stock-based compensation expense and the actual factors which become known over time, we may change the input factors used in determining stock-based compensation costs for future grants. These changes, if any, may materially impact our results of operations in the period such changes are made. We expect to continue to grant stock options in the future, and to the extent that we do, our actual stock-based compensation expense recognized in future periods will likely increase.

One significant factor in determining the fair value of our options, when using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, is the fair value of the common stock underlying those stock options. We were a private company with no active public market for our common stock. Therefore, the fair value of the common stock underlying our stock options when we were a private company was determined by our board of directors, which intended to grant all stock options with an exercise price per share not less than the per share fair value of our common stock underlying those options on the date of grant. We determined the estimated per share fair value of our common stock on a quarterly basis using contemporaneous valuations by our board of directors based upon information available to it at the time of the valuations. The fair value of our common stock before we were a publicly traded company was based on an analysis of relevant metrics, including the following:

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In addition, our board of directors obtained periodic contemporaneous valuation studies from an independent third-party valuation firm. In performing its valuation analysis, the valuation firm engaged in discussions with management, analyzed historical and forecasted financial statements and reviewed our corporate documents. In addition, these valuation studies were based on a number of assumptions, including industry, general economic, market and other conditions that could reasonably be evaluated at the time of the valuation. Third-party valuations were performed on each of December 31, 2010, June 30, 2011, September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2011 using generally accepted valuation methodologies.

Since becoming a publicly traded company, our board of directors determines the fair value of our common stock underlying the options based on the market price as quoted by the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

From June 27, 2010 through December 30, 2012, we granted 54,596 options to purchase shares of common stock on January 1, 2011 at an exercise price of $10.84, which was equal to the estimated fair value of our underlying common stock at that date, and on April 10, 2012, we also granted options to purchase up to 48,938, 7,250 and 7,609 options to purchase shares of common stock, to Jon Howie, our Chief Financial Officer, Ira Zecher, a member of our board of directors, and certain key employees, respectively, under the Amended and Restated 2006 Stock Option Plan. Additionally, on September 4, 2012, we issued options to purchase up to 7,250 shares of common stock to each of our new board members, Starlette Johnson and Saed Mohseni, as well as options to purchase up to 10,000 shares to certain key employees under our 2012 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan.

Based upon a price of $22.43 per share, the closing price of our common stock on December 28, 2012 (the last trading day of our fiscal year), the aggregate intrinsic value of stock options outstanding as of December 30, 2012 was approximately $18.1 million, of which approximately $15.9 million related to vested stock options and approximately $2.2 million related to unvested stock options.

Recent Pronouncements

Effective October 1, 2012, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2012-02 “Testing Indefinite Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment.” ASU 2012-02 simplifies how entities test indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment and permits an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. The adoption of ASU 2012-02 did not have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

Effective January 1, 2012, the Company adopted ASU No. 2011-04, “Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards.” The adoption of ASU 2011-04 did not have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

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Inflation

Our profitability is dependent, among other things, on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in the costs of key operating resources, including food and other raw materials, labor, energy and other supplies and services. Substantial increases in costs and expenses could impact our operating results to the extent that such increases cannot be passed along to our restaurant customers. The impact of inflation on food, labor, energy and occupancy costs can significantly affect the profitability of our restaurant operations.

Many of our restaurant staff members are paid hourly rates related to the federal minimum wage. In fiscal 2007, Congress enacted an increase in the federal minimum wage implemented in two phases, beginning in fiscal 2007 and concluding in fiscal 2009. In addition, numerous state and local governments increased the minimum wage within their jurisdictions, with further state minimum wage increases going into effect in fiscal 2010. Certain operating costs, such as taxes, insurance and other outside services increase with the general level of inflation or higher and may also be subject to other cost and supply fluctuations outside of our control.

While we have been able to partially offset inflation and other changes in the costs of key operating resources by gradually increasing prices for our menu items, more efficient purchasing practices, productivity improvements and greater economies of scale, there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to do so in the future. From time to time, competitive conditions could limit our menu pricing flexibility. In addition, macroeconomic conditions could make additional menu price increases imprudent. There can be no assurance that all future cost increases can be offset by increased menu prices or that increased menu prices will be fully absorbed by our restaurant customers without any resulting changes in their visit frequencies or purchasing patterns. A majority of the leases for our restaurants provide for contingent rent obligations based on a percentage of revenue. As a result, rent expense will absorb a proportionate share of any menu price increases in our restaurants. There can be no assurance that we will continue to generate increases in comparable restaurant sales in amounts sufficient to offset inflationary or other cost pressures.

ITEM 7A:     QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Interest Rate Risk

We are subject to interest rate risk in connection with our long-term indebtedness. Our principal interest rate exposure relates to loans outstanding under our New Revolving Credit Facility that we entered into in November 2012. All outstanding indebtedness under our New Revolving Credit Facility bears interest at a variable rate based on LIBOR. Each quarter point change in interest rates on the variable portion of indebtedness under our New Revolving Credit Facility would result in a change of $12,500 to our interest expense on an annual basis.

Commodity Price Risk

We are exposed to market price fluctuation in food product prices. Given the historical volatility of certain of our food product prices, including produce, chicken, beef and cheese, these fluctuations can materially impact our food and beverage costs. While we have taken steps to enter into long term agreements for some of the commodities used in our restaurant operations, there can be no assurance that future supplies and costs for such commodities will not fluctuate due to weather and other market conditions outside of our control.

Consequently, such commodities can be subject to unforeseen supply and cost fluctuations. Dairy costs can also fluctuate due to government regulation. Because we typically set our menu prices in advance of our food product prices, we cannot immediately take into account changing costs of food items. To the extent that we are unable to pass the increased costs on to our customers through price increases, our results of operations would be adversely affected. We do not use financial instruments to hedge our risk to market price fluctuations in our food product prices at this time.

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ITEM 8:    FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Our consolidated financial statements, notes thereto and the report of McGladrey LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, are set forth beginning on page F-1 hereto and are incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 9:    CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

None

ITEM 9A: CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report.

The design of any system of control is based upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated objectives under all future events, no matter how remote, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may not deteriorate. Because of its inherent limitations, disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all misstatements. Accordingly, even effective disclosure controls and procedures can only provide reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-l5(f) of the Exchange Act) or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by the rules of the SEC for newly public companies.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during our most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 9B: OTHER INFORMATION

None

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PART III

ITEM 10: DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The following table sets forth certain information about our directors and executive officers as of December 30, 2012:

Executive Officers Biographies

Steve Hislop has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since July 2007. From July 2006 through June 2007, Steve was President and Chief Executive Officer of Sam Seltzer Steak House. Prior to that, Steve served as the Concept President and a member of the board of directors of O’Charley’s Restaurants for 18 years where he helped grow the business from 12 restaurants to a multi-concept company with 347 restaurants. We have concluded that Steve should serve on our board based upon his operational expertise, knowledge of the restaurant industry and leadership experience.

Jon Howie has served as our Chief Financial Officer since August 2011. From March 2007 to July 2011, Jon served as the Chief Financial Officer of Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, LLC. Prior to that, he served 5 years as Controller and was then promoted to Chief Accounting Officer of the Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Inc. Jon is a certified public accountant and prior to joining Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Inc. was employed as an audit senior manager with Grant Thornton, LLP for one year and held various audit positions, including audit senior manager, at Ernst & Young LLP for ten years. At Grant Thornton and Ernst and Young, he served as an accounting and business advisor to both private and public companies and advised a number of these companies in conjunction with their initial and secondary public offerings.

Sharon Russell has served as our Secretary and Chief Administrative Officer since August 2011. Prior to becoming our Chief Administrative Officer, she supervised our accounting department from 1987 to 2006 and served as our Chief Financial Officer from 2006 to August 2011.

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Frank Biller has served as our Vice President of Operations for the Southeast Region since July 2008. Prior to joining us, Frank spent 18 years as the Vice President of Operations for O’Charley’s Restaurants with overall responsibility for 240 restaurants in 19 states.

Michael Hatcher has served as our Vice President of Real Estate and Development since November 2009. Michael joined Chuy’s as a restaurant manager in 1987 and was promoted to General Manager from 1989 to 2002. He was Director of Purchasing and Real Estate from 2002 to 2009.

Ted Zapp has served as our Vice President of Operations since November 2006. Ted has worked with us for almost 30 years. He worked in restaurant operations as a General Manager from 1992 to 1996 and was promoted to Operations Supervisor from 1996 to 2003. He was promoted to Director of Operations from 2003 to 2006 before assuming his current position. Ted Zapp is the brother of John Zapp, a member of our board.