RED ROBIN GOURMET BURGERS INC - Annual Report: 2012 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

Commission file number 001-34851

RED ROBIN GOURMET BURGERS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(303) 846-6000
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

         Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Common Stock, $0.001 par value
Name of each exchange on which registered: NASDAQ (Global Select Market)

         Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

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

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

         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 ý    No o

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, 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 ý    No o

         Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of 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. ý

         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.

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

         The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates (based on the closing price on the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter on The NASDAQ Global Select Market) was $444.3 million. All executive officers and directors of the registrant have been deemed, solely for the purpose of the foregoing calculation, to be "affiliates" of the registrant.

         There were 14,025,364 shares of common stock outstanding as of February 25, 2013.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

         Certain information required for Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is incorporated by reference to the registrant's definitive proxy statement for the 2013 annual meeting of stockholders.

RED ROBIN GOURMET BURGERS, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART I

ITEM 1.    Business

Overview

        Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, is a casual dining restaurant chain focused on serving an imaginative selection of high quality gourmet burgers in a fun environment welcoming to guests of all ages. We opened the first Red Robin® restaurant in Seattle, Washington in September 1969. In 1979, the first franchised Red Robin® restaurant was opened in Yakima, Washington. In 2001, we formed Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and consummated a reorganization of the company. Since that time, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. has owned, either directly or indirectly, all of the outstanding capital stock or membership interests, respectively, of Red Robin International, Inc., and our other operating subsidiaries through which we operate our Company-owned restaurants. Unless otherwise provided in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, references to "Red Robin," "we", "us", "our", and the "Company" refer to Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. and our consolidated subsidiaries. For the 53-week fiscal year 2012, we generated total revenues of $977 million. As of the end of our fiscal year on December 30, 2012, the Red Robin system included 472 restaurants, of which 339 were Company-owned, and 133 were operated under franchise agreements with 19 franchisees. Our franchisees are independent organizations to whom we provide certain support. See "Restaurant Franchise and Licensing Arrangements" for additional information about our franchise program. As of December 30, 2012, there were Red Robin® restaurants in 42 states and two Canadian provinces.

Business Strategy

        We believe in delivering great experiences for our guests and team members, which we believe will lead to operating and financial results greater than our casual dining peers. Our mission is to be the everyday oasis for families and guests of all ages who want to enjoy craveable gourmet burgers in a fun, energetic environment with attentive and friendly service. We have identified and continue to examine opportunities that will drive strong financial performance through increasing guest traffic and revenue, improving operational efficiencies and expense management, and expanding our restaurant base. We have built key short and long-term strategies and initiatives around these opportunities, as well as optimizing returns through allocation of our capital. These objectives include:

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Increasing guest traffic and revenue.  We have developed initiatives to increase guest traffic and sales in our restaurants through greater frequency of visits, increasing our average guest check through selling incremental sales and items expansion of sales during off-peak hours. See "Marketing and Advertising" below for additional information about our marketing strategy and initiatives.



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Improving operational efficiencies and expense management.  We continue to focus on managing our expenses in the operation of our restaurants and in our selling, general and administrative functions. Our restaurant operating costs include food and other commodities, labor cost and benefits, restaurant supplies, utilities, occupancy, and other operating costs. Macroeconomic and other external factors, such as commodity and other price increases have historically resulted in upward trends in these costs. We have been implementing multiple programs to mitigate the impact of these external factors, including evaluation of our distribution and supply chain relationships, labor productivity improvement efforts, utility management systems and initiatives to streamline operational processes. We are in the process of implementing a major overhaul of our data infrastructure, including the replacement of several key operational and financial systems. We will continue these initiatives and examine additional opportunities to reduce overhead costs and improve efficiencies throughout our organization as part of our ongoing cost management efforts.

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Expanding our footprint.  We are focused on disciplined deployment of capital to both grow the brand and to maximize long-term shareholder returns by optimizing the return on our capital investments. Capital allocation decisions include the evaluation of new development opportunities, including the appropriate mix of franchised and Company-owned units; a mix of our traditional size and smaller prototype restaurants; testing of our Red Robin's Burger Works® format; markets and sizes of restaurants; redevelopment or refurnishing options; share repurchases; and optimizing our financial structure. Additionally, we opened 14 new Company-owned restaurants during fiscal year 2012, including four of our limited service non-traditional prototype, Red Robin's Burger Works®. We plan on opening 20 new Company-owned restaurants in 2013 including both full-service and Red Robin's Burger Works® restaurants.

Restaurant Concept

        The Red Robin brand has many desirable attributes, including a strong values-based and guest-focused culture, a talented team and a passionate desire to win. Red Robin was founded on four core values: Honor, Integrity, Continually Seeking Knowledge and Having Fun. These core values form the foundation for how we treat our team members, guests, and communities.

        Our menu features our signature product, the gourmet burger, which we make from premium quality ground beef; and other sandwiches made from chicken breasts, fish filets, turkey patties, as well as vegetarian and vegan burger sandwich options. We offer a wide selection of buns—including ciabatta, brioche, gluten free, sesame, onion and whole grain buns, jalapeno roll and marbled rye—with a wide variety of toppings—including fresh guacamole, barbeque sauce, grilled pineapple, crispy onion straws, sautéed mushrooms, fried jalapenos, bruschetta salsa, coleslaw and dill pickle slices, eight different cheeses, and a fried egg. In addition to gourmet burgers and chicken sandwiches, which accounted for approximately 46% of our total food sales in 2012, Red Robin serves an array of other items that appeal to a broad range of guests. These items include a variety of appetizers, sweet potato fries, salads, soups, pastas, seafood, other entrees, desserts, and the Company's signature Mad Mixology® alcoholic and non-alcoholic specialty beverages. All of our gourmet burgers and sandwiches are served with our all-you-can-eat Bottomless Steak Fries®. In addition, we specialize in offering items our guests can order or modify to meet their dietary needs and preferences.

        We believe in giving our guests the "gift of time." All of Red Robin's menu items are designed to be delivered to guests in a time-efficient manner to accommodate the guests' timetable. Our service sequence is designed to consistently prepare every menu item in less than eight minutes, which allows guests to enjoy time-efficient lunches and dinners. To accommodate these guests, we strive to provide guests with a 37-minute dining experience at lunch and a 42-minute dining experience at dinner. However, we strive to offer our guests a choice of experiences and occasions from time-pressured occasions to a place to relax and unwind with friends. Red Robin also has an unparalleled and extraordinary approach to guest service using Unbridled Acts®. We have catalogued thousands of stories of Red Robin team members who live our values through random acts of kindness they bestow upon restaurant guests and other team members. Many examples of our Unbridled Acts® can be found on our website, www.redrobin.com. We encourage our team members to execute on the aspects of service that we have identified to be our biggest drivers of our guest loyalty.

        We also strive to provide our guests with exceptional dining value. In 2012, we had an average check per guest of approximately $11.73, including beverages. We believe this price-to-value relationship, our limited time offers ("LTO") featuring innovative gourmet burgers, salads, and sandwiches, and our Red's Tavern Double platform offering everyday value starting at $6.99 differentiate us from our competitors, and allows us to appeal to a broad base of consumers with a wide range of income levels. A low average guest check, combined with swift service and a family-friendly atmosphere further differentiates us from many other casual dining restaurants.

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Operations

Restaurant Management

        Our typical restaurant management team consists of a general manager, an assistant general manager, a kitchen manager, and one or two assistant managers depending on restaurant sales volumes. The management team of each restaurant is responsible for the day-to-day operation of that restaurant, including hiring, training, and developing of team members, as well as operating results. Our typical restaurant employs approximately 85 hourly team members, many of whom work part-time.

        For our new restaurants, we try to identify seasoned leadership teams 12 months in advance of opening, with the expectation that seasoned leadership will provide a better team member and guest experience while enabling a new restaurant to quickly reach normalized operations.

Learning and Development

        We strive to maintain quality and consistency in each of our restaurants through the training and supervision of team members and the establishment of, and adherence to, high standards relating to personnel performance, food and beverage preparation and production as well as the maintenance of our restaurants. Each restaurant has a core group of certified trainers who provide on-the-job instruction for new team members who must be certified for their positions by passing a series of tests. These trainers participate in a train-the-trainer seminar that provides them with knowledge and tactics to enable them to coach our team members to meet our standards.

        Restaurant managers are required to complete a training program in one of our certified training restaurants that includes guest service, kitchen and management responsibilities. Newly trained managers are then assigned to their home restaurant where they obtain ongoing training with their general manager. We place a high priority on our continuing management development programs in order to ensure that qualified managers are available and prepared for future restaurant openings and to fill open management positions. We conduct semi-annual performance reviews with each manager to discuss prior performance and future performance goals. Annually, we hold a leadership conference during which our general managers receive additional training in areas such as on leadership, food safety, management systems, hospitality, and other relevant topics.

        For new restaurants, team members complete a training process to ensure the smooth and efficient operation of the restaurant from the first day it opens to the public. We also continue to enhance our manager training curriculum to better prepare new managers for the challenging environment that a new restaurant creates so they can confidently execute our processes, systems, and values.

        Prior to opening a new restaurant, our training and opening team travels to the new restaurant location to prepare for an intensive training program for all team members hired for the new restaurant opening. Part of the training team remains on-site for a period after the opening of the restaurant while an additional team of training support also arrives during the first week of operation for several weeks of on-site support.

Quality Control and Purchasing

        Our food safety and quality assurance programs help manage our commitment to quality ingredients and food preparation. Our systems are designed to protect our food supply from acquisition through preparation and service. We provide detailed specifications for our food ingredients, products, and supplies to our suppliers. We inspect specific qualified manufacturers and growers. Our restaurant managers are certified in a comprehensive safety and sanitation course by the National Restaurant Association's ServSafe program. Minimum cooking and cooling procedures and frequent temperature and quality assurance checks ensure the safety and quality of burgers and other ingredients we use in our restaurants. In order to provide the freshest ingredients and products and to maximize operating

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efficiencies between purchase and usage, each restaurant's management team determines the restaurant's daily usage requirements for food ingredients, products and supplies, and, accordingly, orders from approved suppliers and distributors. The restaurant management team inspects all deliveries to ensure that the items received meet our quality specifications. Additionally, we utilize the services of a third-party company to perform comprehensive food safety and sanitation inspections in all Red Robin® restaurants.

        To maximize our purchasing efficiencies and obtain the best possible prices for our high-quality ingredients, products and supplies, our centralized purchasing team generally negotiates fixed price agreements with terms between one month and two years and formula based pricing agreements which can vary depending on changes in commodity pricing. Ground beef represented approximately 14% of our cost of goods in 2012 and chicken represented approximately 10% of our cost of goods. In 2013, our ground beef prices are expected to be based on market prices and are expected to be 8 to 10% higher than prices in 2012. Our contracts for chicken are generally fixed price contracts with multiple suppliers and varying contract durations. In addition, we have entered into supply agreements for our steak fries, fry oil, ketchup and select other commodities at prices that are on average slightly above 2011 levels. We monitor the primary commodities we purchase and extend contract positions when applicable in order to minimize the impact of fluctuations in price and availability. However, certain commodities, primarily ground beef, remain subject to market price fluctuations. We continue to identify competitively priced, high quality alternative manufacturers, suppliers, growers, and distributors that are available should the need arise; however, we have not experienced significant disruptions in our supply chain.

Restaurant Development

        Red Robin seeks to grow its restaurant base prudently considering a number of factors including general economic conditions, expected financial performance, availability of appropriate locations, competition in local markets and the availability of teams to manage new locations. We believe that site selection is critical to our success and thus we devote substantial time and effort evaluating each prospective site. Our site selection criteria focuses on identifying markets, trade areas and specific sites that are likely to yield the greatest density of desirable demographic characteristics, heavy retail traffic, and high visibility. Over the past three years, we have opened a total of 38 new restaurants, acquired one restaurant and closed six restaurants.

        In 2011, we introduced Red Robin's Burger Works®, a smaller non-traditional prototype with a limited menu and limited service that we are developing in order to serve the needs of our guests in markets where full-sized sites are not available, such as urban areas and other non-traditional sites. We expect most Red Robin's Burger Works® locations to range between 1,800 and 2,500 square feet. We have opened five Red Robin's Burger Works® locations since November 2011 and we continue to evaluate the success of this non-traditional prototype and its markets in order to determine future growth plans.

        Additionally, in 2012, we introduced a new, mid-sized prototype of our full service restaurant which is approximately 4,000 square feet. During 2013, the Company expects to open 20 new Company-owned restaurants, including up to five Red Robin's Burger Works®. The average cost of a full-sized 5,800 square foot Red Robin is approximately $1.8 to $2.0 million depending on location (stand alone, mall or in-line retail) assuming it is a leased location.

Restaurant Franchise and Licensing Arrangements

        As of December 30, 2012, we had 19 franchisees that were operating 133 restaurants in 21 states and two Canadian provinces. In 2012, our franchisees closed or sold four restaurants. We expect that

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our franchisees will open up to four new restaurants in 2013. Our two largest franchisees own 21 restaurants located in Michigan and Ohio and 19 restaurants in eastern Pennsylvania, respectively.

        While we have not actively sought or sold new franchises in recent years, we are reviewing opportunities to expand our franchise program which, long term, may include development of new franchises and new geographic regions; optimize our mix of company owned restaurants and franchised restaurants; and work with our existing franchisees to open new franchised restaurants where there are attractive development opportunities.

        Our typical franchise arrangement consists of an area development agreement ("ADA") and a separate franchise agreement for each restaurant. Our current form of ADA grants the franchisee the exclusive right to develop restaurants in a defined area over a defined term, which is usually five years. Upon execution of the ADA, a franchisee pays us a $10,000 development fee for each restaurant the franchisee agrees to develop. At this time, we have only one ADA with one franchisee, under which the franchisee is obligated to develop two more restaurants. For existing franchisees that do not have a current ADA, we may negotiate individually the terms under which they may develop additional restaurants.

        When a franchisee opens a new restaurant, we collect a franchise fee of $25,000, which is in addition to the development fee we collect from the franchisee under the ADA. The franchise agreement for the restaurant authorizes the franchisee to operate the restaurant using our trademarks, service marks, trade dress, operating systems, recipes, manuals, processes, and related items. The franchise agreement typically grants the franchisee an initial term of 20 years and the option to extend the term for an additional 10 years provided the franchisee satisfies certain conditions.

        We recognize area development fees and franchise fees as income when we have performed all of our material obligations and initial services, including assistance in developing and opening the restaurant, related to each fee or when the ADA terminates with unused fees for undeveloped restaurants. Until earned, we account for these fees as an accrued liability. Our standard form of franchise agreement requires the franchisee to pay a royalty fee equal to 4.0% of adjusted gross restaurant sales. However, certain franchisees pay royalty fees ranging from 3.0% to 3.5% of adjusted gross restaurant sales under agreements we negotiated with those franchisees in prior years.

Franchise Compliance Assurance

        We actively work with and monitor our franchisees' performance to help them develop and operate their restaurants in compliance with Red Robin's systems and procedures. During the restaurant development phase, we review the franchisee's site selection and provide the franchisee with our prototype building plans. We provide trainers to assist the franchisee in opening the restaurant for business. We advise the franchisee on all menu items, management training, and equipment and food purchases. On an ongoing basis, we conduct brand equity reviews of all franchise restaurants to determine their level of effectiveness in executing our concept.

        To continuously improve our marketing programs and operating systems, we maintain a marketing advisory council and a franchise business advisory council comprised of corporate and franchisee members. Through those councils, we solicit the input of our franchisees on marketing programs, including their suggestions as to which new menu items we should test and feature in future promotions. We also exchange best operating practices with our franchisees as we strive to improve our operating systems while attaining a high level of franchisee participation.

Information Technology

        We rely on information systems in all aspects of our operations, including (but not limited to) point-of-sale transaction processing in our restaurants; operation of our restaurants; management of our

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inventories; collection of cash; payment of payroll and other obligations; and various other processes and procedures.

        Our corporate offices and Company-owned restaurants are enabled with information technology and decision support systems. In the restaurants, these systems are designed to provide operational tools for sales, inventory, and labor management. This technology includes industry-specific, off-the-shelf systems, as well as proprietary software designed to optimize food and beverage costs and labor scheduling. These systems are integrated with our point-of-sale systems to provide daily, weekly and period-to-date information that is important for managers to run an efficient and effective operation, and to provide financial reporting information. We also use other systems to interact with our guests. These include an online guest feedback system, which provides real-time results on guest service, food quality, and atmosphere to each of our restaurants.

        We also utilize centralized financial, accounting, and human resources/personnel systems for Company-owned restaurants. In addition, we use an operations scorecard to integrate data from our centralized systems with the distributed information managed in our restaurants. We believe these combined tools are important in analyzing and improving our operations, profit margins and other results.

        In order to increase efficiency and operational capabilities, we have committed to a significant capital investment to upgrade and expand some of these systems. In 2013, we will continue to invest in our systems as we implement a major overhaul of our data infrastructure, including the replacement of several key operational and financial systems.

        We accept electronic payment cards from our guests for payment in our restaurants. We also receive and maintain certain personal information about our guests and team members. We have systems and processes in place that focus on the protection of our guests' credit card information and other private information that we are required to protect, such as our team members' personal information. We have taken a number of steps to prevent the occurrence of security breaches in this respect. Our systems have been carefully designed and configured to protect against data loss or compromise. For example, because of the number of credit card transactions processed in our Company-owned stores, we are required to maintain the highest level of Payment Card Industry ("PCI") Data Security Standard compliance at our corporate offices and Company-owned stores. These standards, set by a consortium of the major credit card companies, require certain levels of system security and procedures to protect our customers' credit card and other personal information. Our credit card security practices and systems are certified as compliant with the PCI Data Security Standard annually by an independent, qualified security assessor.

        We also engage other security assessors and auditors to review and advise us on our other data security practices with respect to protection of other sensitive personal information that we obtain from guests and team members.

Marketing and Advertising

        We build brand equity and awareness primarily through national marketing, including national cable, digital, social media programs, email and public relations initiatives. These programs are funded primarily through cooperative creative development and national media advertising funds.

        In recent years, we have undertaken significant market research initiatives to gain feedback and perceptions in order to help inform our business decisions. Among other things, we use a guest satisfaction tool in all restaurants that provides immediate feedback from guests, via the Internet or by phone, on their experiences. Restaurant managers use this information to help them identify areas of focus to strengthen restaurant performance and track progress. We also continually monitor our national brand equity scores and business drivers among both current and potential guests, and we

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track the frequency and purchase behavior of guests who are members of our Red Robin Royalty™ loyalty program. In 2012, we began testing our brand transformation program to enhance our service, menu, food presentation and other guest experiences. The goal of the brand transformation is to maintain our position as a go-to place for families while attracting more visits from adult guests dining together.

        A key focus for us continues to be delivering innovative flavor combinations consistent with our gourmet burger positioning and doing so at an everyday value to our guests. Our 2012 marketing strategy included the launch of our Tavern Double platform for an everyday value starting price of $6.99 as well as limited time offers supported by national television advertising. All were supported with in-restaurant marketing materials. For 2013, we will be introducing a new advertising campaign and moving to new media planning and buying strategy to provide greater impact.

Team Members

        As of December 30, 2012, we had 22,342 employees, to whom we refer as team members, consisting of 22,043 team members at Company-owned restaurants and 299 team members at our corporate headquarters and field offices. None of our team members are covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We consider our team member relations to be good.

        We support our team members by offering competitive wages and benefits for eligible team members, including medical and other insurance, an employee stock purchase plan and equity-based awards for eligible corporate and operations employees at the director level and above. We motivate and prepare our team members by providing them with opportunities for increased responsibilities and advancement. At certain levels, we also offer performance-based incentives tied to sales, profitability, certain qualitative measures, and/or length of service.

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Executive Officers

        The following table sets forth information about our executive officers:

        Stephen E. Carley.    Mr. Carley was appointed Chief Executive Officer in September 2010. He previously served from April 2001 until September 2010 as the Chief Executive Officer of El Pollo Loco, a privately held restaurant company headquartered in Costa Mesa, California. Prior to his service at El Pollo Loco, Mr. Carley served in various management positions with several companies, including PhotoPoint Corp., Universal City Hollywood, PepsiCo Inc., and the Taco Bell Group.

        Eric C. Houseman.    Mr. Houseman joined Red Robin in 1993. He was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Red Robin in August 2005. He previously served as Vice President of Operations from March 2000 until August 2005, Director of Operations—Oregon/Washington from January 2000 to March 2000, Senior Regional Operations Director from September 1998 to January 2000, and General Manager from January 1995 to September 1998.

        Stuart B. Brown.    Mr. Brown joined Red Robin as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in September 2011. From October 2006 until joining the Company, Mr. Brown served as Chief Financial Officer of DCT Industrial Trust Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust. Prior to his role at DCT Industrial Trust Inc., Mr. Brown was Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Federal Realty Investment Trust, from 2003 to 2006. Mr. Brown also served as Vice President, Finance at Giant Food, Inc., a domestic retail grocery chain that is part of the Netherlands-based Royal Ahold supermarket company, and in other corporate and operational finance positions at Royal Ahold over approximately ten years.

        Todd A. Brighton.    Mr. Brighton joined Red Robin in April 2001 as Vice President of Development. He was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer in August 2005. From August 1999 until his employment with Red Robin, Mr. Brighton worked for RTM Restaurant Group in Atlanta, Georgia as Director of Real Estate.

        Denny Marie Post.    Ms. Post joined Red Robin as Chief Marketing Officer in August 2011. Before joining Red Robin, Ms. Post was the Managing Member of mm&i Consulting LLC, a marketing consulting firm, from June 2010 to July 2011. She served as Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer of T-Mobile USA from July 2008 to May 2010, as Senior Vice President, Global Beverage, Food and Quality at Starbucks Corporation from February 2007 to June 2008, as Senior Vice President, Chief Concept Officer of Burger King Corp. from April 2004 to January 2007, and, prior to that, in various marketing executive roles at YUM! Brands, Inc.

        Annita M. Menogan.    Ms. Menogan joined Red Robin in January 2006 as Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary and was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2007. From August 1999 to September 2005, Ms. Menogan was employed by Coors Brewing Company as Assistant General Counsel, and served as Vice President, Secretary and Deputy General Counsel of Adolph Coors Company and of Molson Coors Brewing Company, following the merger with Molson Inc. in February 2005. Ms. Menogan was engaged in the private practice of law from 1983 to 1999.

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        Chris Laping.    Mr. Laping joined Red Robin as Vice President and Chief Information Officer in June 2007 and was promoted to Senior Vice President in February 2011. Mr. Laping brings more than 20 years of information technology and business transformation experience to Red Robin. Prior to joining Red Robin, Mr. Laping worked at Statêra, Inc. from February 2006 to June 2007 as Principal and Chief Information Officer and served as a technology consultant to the Company. Before working as a consultant, Mr. Laping worked from 2001 until 2006 as a Vice President and Chief Information Officer for GMAC Commercial Holding Capital Corp.

Competition

        The restaurant industry is highly competitive. We compete against other segments of the restaurant industry, including quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. The number, size and strength of competitors vary by region, concept, market and even restaurant. We compete on the basis of taste, quality, price of food offered, guest service, ambiance, location, and overall dining experience. In particular, we face competition from concepts focused on the sale of hamburgers, including quick service and fast casual. Many of these concepts are expanding faster than us and are penetrating both geographic and demographic markets that we target as well. Moreover, many of these concepts compete with smaller-sized building units, which allow them greater flexibility in site selection and market penetration.

        We believe that our guest demographics, strong brand recognition, gourmet burger concept, attractive price-value relationship, and the quality of our food and service enable us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. We believe we compete favorably with respect to each of these factors. Many of our competitors are well-established national, regional, or local chains which may have substantial financial, marketing, and other resources. We also compete with many other restaurant and retail establishments for site locations and team members.

Seasonality

        Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations. Historically, sales in most of our restaurants have been higher during the summer months and winter holiday season due to factors including our retail-oriented locations and family appeal. As a result, our quarterly and annual operating results and comparable restaurant sales may fluctuate significantly as a result of seasonality. Accordingly, results for any one quarter or year are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other quarter or for any year, and comparable restaurant sales for any particular future period may decrease.

Trademarks

        We have a number of registered trademarks and service marks, including the Red Robin®, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers®, Red Robin America's Gourmet Burgers & Spirits®, Red Robin's Burger Works®, "YUMMM®", Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews™ and Red Robin Royalty™ names and logos. We have registered or filed applications for trademarks for these marks, among others, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in Canada, and we have applied to register various trademarks in certain other international jurisdictions.

        In order to better protect our brand, we have also registered the Internet domain name www.redrobin.com. We believe that our trademarks, service marks, and other intellectual property rights have significant value and are important to our brand building efforts and the marketing of our restaurant concept.

Government Regulation

        Our restaurants are subject to licensing and regulation by state and local health, safety, fire, and other authorities, including licensing requirements and regulations for the sale of alcoholic beverages and food. To date, we have been able to obtain and maintain all necessary licenses, permits, and

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approvals. The development and construction of new restaurants is subject also to compliance with applicable zoning, land use, and environmental regulations. We are also subject to federal regulation and state laws that regulate the offer and sale of franchises and substantive aspects of the franchisor-franchisee relationship. Various federal and state labor laws govern our relationship with our team members and affect operating costs. These laws govern minimum wage requirements, overtime pay, meal and rest breaks, unemployment tax rates, health care and benefits, workers' compensation rates, citizenship or residency requirements, child labor regulations, and discriminatory conduct. Federal, state and local government agencies have established or are in the process of establishing regulations requiring that we disclose to our guests nutritional information regarding the items we serve.

Available Information

        We maintain a link to investor relations information on our website, www.redrobin.com, where we make available, free of charge, our Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Our website and the information contained on or connected to our website are not incorporated by reference herein, and our web address is included as an inactive textual reference only.

Forward-Looking Statements

        Certain information and statements contained in this report are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA") codified at Section 27 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. This statement is included for purposes of complying with the safe harbor provisions of the PSLRA. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance and underlying assumptions and other statements which are other than statements of historical facts. These statements may be identified, without limitation, by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "project," "may," "will," "would," and similar expressions. Certain forward-looking statements are included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, principally in the sections captioned "Business," "Legal Proceedings," "Consolidated Financial Statements" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." Forward-looking statements relate to, among other things:

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our business objectives and strategic plans, including the strength of our long-term growth and profit, expense management and operational efficiency and capital deployment opportunities;



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our ability to attract new guests and retain loyal guests, and our initiatives targeted at adult guests;



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any future price increases, and their effect on our revenue and profit;



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our ability to invest in our information technology systems and implement a major overhaul of our data infrastructure including the replacement of several key operational and financial systems;



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our ability to open and operate additional restaurants in both new and existing markets profitably, the anticipated number of new restaurants and the timing of such openings;



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estimated costs of opening and operating new restaurants, including general and administrative, marketing and, franchise development costs, and the ability to effectively utilize alternative unit sizes;

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•

anticipated restaurant operating costs, including commodity and food prices, labor and energy costs and selling, general and administrative expenses and ability to reduce overhead costs and improve efficiencies;



•

expected future revenues and earnings, comparable and non-comparable restaurant sales, results of operations, and future restaurant growth (both Company-owned and franchised);



•

anticipated advertising costs to support 2013 marketing activities and tactics, including our Red Robin Royalty™ program and the effect on revenue and guest counts;



•

future capital deployment strategies and the amounts of capital expenditures, including potential share repurchases, and new restaurant development;



•

our expectation that we will have adequate cash from operations and credit facility borrowings to meet all future debt service, capital expenditures, and working capital requirements in fiscal year 2013 and beyond;



•

anticipated compliance with debt covenants;



•

the sufficiency of the supply of commodities and labor pool to carry on our business;



•

our franchise program, and possible changes to our focus within the franchise program;



•

anticipated restaurant closings and related impairment charges;



•

anticipated interest and tax expense;



•

the effect of the adoption of new accounting standards on our financial and accounting systems and analysis programs;



•

expectations regarding competition and our competitive advantages; and



•

expectations regarding consumer preferences and consumer discretionary spending.

        Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such expectations may prove to be materially incorrect due to known and unknown risks and uncertainties.

        In some cases, information regarding certain important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from a forward-looking statement appears together with such statement. In addition, the factors described under Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates and Risk Factors, as well as other possible factors not listed, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the following: the effectiveness of our business improvement initiatives; effectiveness of our marketing campaign; uncertainty regarding general economic conditions and economic recovery; concentration of restaurants in certain markets and lack of market awareness in new markets; changes in consumer disposable income; consumer spending trends and habits; ineffectiveness of our information technology efforts; regional mall and lifestyle center traffic trends; increased competition and discounting in the casual dining restaurant market; costs and availability of food and beverage inventory; changes in commodity prices, particularly ground beef; changes in labor and energy costs; limitations on the Company's ability to execute stock repurchases due to lack of available shares or acceptable stock price levels or other market or Company-specific conditions; our ability to attract qualified managers and team members; changes in the availability of capital or credit facility borrowings; costs and other effects of legal claims by team members, franchisees, customers, vendors, stockholders and others, including settlement of those claims; effectiveness of management strategies and decisions; weather conditions and related events in regions where our restaurants are operated; and changes in accounting standards policies and practices or related interpretations by auditors or regulatory entities.

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        All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances.

ITEM 1A.    Risk Factors

        An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully read and consider the risks described below before making an investment decision. The occurrence of any of the following risks could materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. The trading price or value of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. When making an investment decision with respect to our common stock, you should also refer to the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes.

Risks Related to Our Business

Our business improvement initiatives may not continue to be successful or achieve the desired results, in a timely fashion.

        We continue to evolve our business improvement initiatives that are designed to both improve the Company's results in the short term and create sustainable growth in the long term. These initiatives continue to focus on enhancing our guest experience to increase top line revenue, improving operating efficiency and expense management, and growing our restaurant base through new company-owned restaurants. They include our initiatives to elevate our guest experience with enhancements to our brand and to upgrade our information technology systems, and the development of varying size restaurant prototypes to expand our ability to grow our restaurant base. While many of these initiatives have been implemented in various stages and are generating positive results, there is no assurance that these initiatives and the projects undertaken to accomplish such initiatives will continue to be successful, or that the Company has, or will have sufficient resources to fully and successfully implement, sustain results from, or achieve additional expected benefits from them.

Our marketing and branding strategies to attract, engage and retain our guests may not be successful, which could negatively affect our business.

        We continue to evolve our marketing and branding strategies in order to appeal to customers and compete effectively to attract, engage and retain customers. Our unique loyalty program, "Red Robin Royalty™" has experienced some success in driving sales and guest counts by providing loyal guests with various incentives and rewards for repeat visits. We also intend to continue our focus on serving families while targeting adult occasions, and to grow beverage and food sales, including alcoholic beverages, appetizers, and desserts, through menu and service enhancements. We do not have any assurance that our marketing strategies will be successful. If new advertising, modified branding, and other marketing programs and methods are not successful, we may not generate the level of restaurant sales we expect and the expense associated with these programs may negatively affect our financial results. Moreover, many of our competitors have larger marketing resources and have successfully used similar national marketing strategies, including more extensive media usage, and we may not be able to successfully compete against those established programs.

        As part of our marketing efforts, we rely on search engine marketing and social media platforms such as Facebook® and Twitter® to attract and retain guests. There are a variety of risks associated with the use of social media, including the improper disclosure of proprietary information, negative comments about the Company, exposure of personally identifiable information, fraud, or out-of-date

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information. The inappropriate use of social media vehicles by our guests or team members could increase our costs, lead to litigation or result in negative publicity that could damage our reputation.

Our success depends on our ability to effectively compete in the restaurant industry to attract and retain guests.

        Competition in the restaurant industry is intense and barriers to entry are low. Our competitors include a large and diverse group of restaurants in all segments ranging from quick serve and fast casual to "polished casual" and those verging on fine dining. These competitors range from independent local operators that have opened restaurants in various markets, high growth targeted "better" burger concepts in the quick serve and fast casual space, to the well-capitalized national restaurant companies. Many of these concepts have already captured segments of the market that we are targeting, such as adult-only occasions, and are expanding faster than we are, penetrating both desirable geographic and demographic markets. Many of our competitors are well established in the casual dining market segment and some of our competitors have substantially greater financial, marketing, and other resources than we have. Accordingly, they may be better equipped than us to increase marketing or to take other measures to maintain their competitive position, including the use of significant discount offers to attract guests.

        We also compete with other restaurants and retail establishments for real estate and attractive locations. These concepts often require smaller building units, which may provide them with greater flexibility in site selection and market penetration. We are testing smaller prototype restaurants and formats to improve our competitive position. There is no assurance that these smaller prototypes will successfully compete with other restaurant concepts.

Uncertainty regarding the continued weakness in the economic environment may negatively affect consumer spending and guest visits, which may negatively affect our revenues and our results of operations and may continue to do so in the future.

        Continued uncertainty regarding economic conditions and the rate of economic recovery affects the restaurant industry, and may negatively affect the results of operations and financial condition of the Company and its customers, distributors, and suppliers. These conditions include continued unemployment, weakness and lack of consistent improvement in the housing markets; downtrend or delays in residential or commercial real estate development; volatility in financial markets; inflationary pressures; and reduced consumer confidence. As a result, our guests may continue to remain apprehensive about the economy and maintain or further reduce their level of discretionary spending. This could affect the frequency with which our guests choose to dine out or the amount they spend on meals, thereby decreasing our revenues and potentially negatively affecting our operating results. We believe there is a risk that prolonged negative or uncertain economic conditions might cause consumers to make long-lasting changes to their discretionary spending behavior, including dining out less frequently on a more permanent basis, which would have a negative effect on our business. Moreover, our restaurants are primarily located near high density retail areas such as regional malls, lifestyle centers, big box shopping centers, and entertainment centers. We depend on a high volume of visitors at these centers to attract guests to our restaurants. A decline in development or closures of businesses in these settings or a decline in visitors to retail areas near our restaurants could negatively affect our restaurant sales.

Our operations are susceptible to the changes in cost and availability of food which could negatively affect our operating results.

        Our profitability depends in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in food costs. Various factors beyond our control, including adverse weather conditions, governmental regulation, production, availability, recalls of food products, and seasonality, as well as the effects of the current macroeconomic environment on our suppliers, may affect our food costs or cause a disruption in our

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supply chain. In an effort to mitigate some of this risk, we have entered into fixed price agreements on some of our food and beverage products, including certain proteins, produce and cooking oil. As of the end of fiscal year 2012, approximately 40% of our estimated annual food and beverage purchases were covered by fixed price contracts, most of which are scheduled to expire at various times during fiscal year 2013. Changes in the price or availability of commodities for which we do not have fixed price contracts could have a material adverse affect on our profitability. Expiring contracts with our food suppliers could also result in unfavorable renewal terms and therefore increase costs associated with these suppliers or may necessitate negotiations with alternate suppliers. We may be unable to obtain favorable contract terms with suppliers or adjust our purchasing practices and menu prices to respond to changing food costs, and a failure to do so could negatively affect our operating results.

Price increases may negatively affect guest visits.

        We may make future price increases, primarily to offset increased costs and operating expenses. While we have not experienced significant consumer resistance to our price increases in the past, we cannot provide assurance that any future price increases will not deter guests from visiting our restaurants, reduce the frequency of their visits, or affect their purchasing decisions.

Changes in consumer preferences could negatively affect our results of operations.

        The restaurant industry is characterized by the continual introduction of new concepts and is subject to rapidly changing consumer preferences, tastes and eating and purchasing habits. Our restaurants compete on the basis of a varied menu and feature burgers, salads, soups, appetizers, other entrees, desserts, and our signature alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in a family-friendly atmosphere. Our continued success depends, in part, upon the continued popularity of these foods and this style of casual dining. Shifts in consumer preferences away from this cuisine or dining style could have a material adverse effect on our future profitability. In addition, competitors' use of significant advertising and food discounting could influence our guests' dining choices. One of our strategies moving forward is to shift to a balance between our legacy of being family-friendly and adult-focused guest experiences, referencing our legacy. There is no assurance that this shift will be successful or that it will not negatively affect our family guest experience.

        Further, changing health or dietary preferences may cause consumers to avoid our products in favor of alternative foods. The food service industry as a whole rests on consumer preferences and demographic trends at the local, regional, national and international levels, and the effect on consumer eating habits of new information regarding diet, nutrition and health. New laws requiring additional nutritional information to be disclosed on our menus, changes in nutritional guidelines issued by the federal government agencies, issuance of similar guidelines or statistical information by other federal, state or local municipalities, or academic studies, among other things, may affect consumer choice and cause consumers to significantly alter their dining choices in ways that adversely affect our sales and profitability.

We are dependent on information technology to operate our business. If we are unable to successfully complete the implementation of our upgraded information technology systems, or there is a material failure in such systems, we may not receive the benefits of this technology could negatively impact or impair our business operations and profits could be negatively affected, and our systems may be inadequate to support our future growth strategies.

        We rely heavily on information technology systems in all aspects of our operations including our restaurant point-of-sale systems, marketing programs, employee engagement, supply chain management, and various other processes and transactions. Our ability to effectively manage and run our business depends on the reliability and capacity of our information technology systems, including technology services and systems for which we contract from third parties.

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        In order to increase efficiency and operational capabilities and to support growth, we committed to a significant capital investment to upgrade and expand our information technology systems and services. If the expansion and stabilization of such systems and services, which are currently underway, are materially delayed, unsuccessful or otherwise do not accomplish our intended goals, our operations could be significantly affected, and, among other things, our ability to efficiently manage or scale material functions in our operations could be impaired. Despite the significant capital investment to upgrade the systems and services identified above, these new systems and services may be insufficient to achieve or continue to achieve the expected results. These systems and our business needs will continue to evolve and require upgrading and maintenance over time, consequently requiring additional significant future commitments of resources and capital.

The failure of or security breach involving our information technology systems could interrupt our business, damage our reputation and negatively affect our operations and profits.

        Our information technology systems, communication systems and electronic data could be subject or vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, terrorist attacks, floods, fires, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, loss of data, unauthorized data breaches or other attempts to harm our systems. A failure of these systems to operate effectively, problems with transitioning to upgraded or replacement systems, or any other failure to maintain a continuous and secure cyber network could result in interruption to our services, adversely affect our reputation, and negatively impact our results of operations.

        Moreover, we accept electronic payment cards from our guests for payment in our restaurants. We also receive and maintain certain personal information about our guests and team members. A number of restaurant operators and retailers have experienced security breaches in which credit and debit card information may have been stolen. If we experienced a security breach, we could become subject to claims, lawsuits or other proceedings for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising out of the theft of credit or debit card information, compromised security and information systems, failure of our employees to comply with applicable laws, the unauthorized acquisition or use of such information by third parties, or other similar claims. Any such incidents or proceedings could adversely affect our reputation and our results of operations, and could result in the imposition of penalties or cause us to incur significant unplanned losses and expenditures, including those necessary to remediate any damage to persons whose personal information may have been compromised.

        Because of the number of credit card transactions processed in our Company-owned stores, we are required to maintain the highest level of Payment Card Industry ("PCI") Data Security Standard compliance at our corporate offices and Company-owned stores. If we do not maintain the required level of PCI compliance, we could be subject to costly fines or additional fees from the card brands that we accept, or lose our ability to accept those payment cards. Our franchisees are separate businesses that have different levels of compliance required depending on the number of credit card transactions processed. If any failure by them to maintain the appropriate level of PCI compliance negatively impacts their business operations, we could face a loss of or reduction in royalties or other payments they are required to remit to us.

Expanding our restaurant base is critical to our long-term growth, and our ability to open and profitably operate new restaurants is subject to factors beyond our control.

        Our initiatives include a focus on continued growth of our restaurant base through new company-owned restaurants. The expansion of our restaurant base depends in large part on our ability and the ability of our franchisees to timely and efficiently open new restaurants and to operate these restaurants on a profitable basis. Delays or failures in opening new restaurants, or the inability to profitably operate them once opened, could materially and adversely affect our planned growth. The

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success of our expansion strategy and the success of new restaurants depends upon numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including the following:

•

improvement in the unstable, macroeconomic environment nationally and regionally that affects restaurant-level performance and influences our decisions on the rate of expansion, timing, and the number of restaurants to be opened;



•

identification of and ability to secure an adequate supply of available and suitable restaurant sites;



•

negotiation of favorable lease and construction terms;



•

cost and availability of capital to fund restaurant expansion and operation;



•

the availability of construction materials and labor;



•

our ability to manage construction and development costs of new restaurants;



•

timely adherence to development schedules;



•

securing required governmental approvals and permits and in a timely manner;



•

availability and retention of qualified operating personnel to staff our new restaurants, especially managers;



•

competition in our markets and general economic conditions that may affect consumer spending or choice;



•

our ability to attract and retain guests; and



•

our ability to operate at acceptable profit margins.

New or less mature restaurants, once opened, may vary in profitability and levels of operating revenue for six months or more.

        New and less mature restaurants typically experience higher operating costs in both dollars and percentage of revenue initially when compared to restaurants in the comparable restaurant base. Although the average unit volumes and restaurant level profit margins have performed well on average in recent years, there is no assurance that new restaurants will continue to experience such successes, given the uncertain state of the economy. Our restaurants are currently taking approximately six months or more to reach normalized operating levels due to inefficiencies typically associated with new restaurants. These include operating costs, which are often significantly greater during the first several months of operation and fluctuating guest counts. Further, there is no assurance that our less mature restaurants will attain operating results similar to those of our existing restaurants.

The large number of Company-owned restaurants concentrated in the western United States makes us susceptible to changes in economic and other trends in that region and restaurant expansion in our existing markets could erode sales of our existing restaurants.

        As of December 30, 2012, a total of 159 or 46.9% of all Company-owned restaurants, representing 52.7% of restaurant revenue, were located in the western United States (i.e., Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho and Washington). As a result, we are particularly susceptible to negative trends and economic conditions in this region, including its labor market. In recent years, California, Arizona and Nevada have been more negatively affected by the housing downturn and the overall economic recession than other geographic areas. As a result of the economic recession, we had a more substantial decline in guest traffic at our restaurants in the western United States, which has had a negative effect on our operations as a whole. In addition, given our geographic concentration, negative publicity regarding any of our restaurants in the western United States could have a material

17

adverse effect on our business and operations, as could other regional occurrences such as local strikes, energy shortages, or increases in energy prices, droughts, earthquakes, fires, or other natural disasters.

        Because we typically draw guests from a relatively small radius around each of our restaurants, the sales performance and guest counts for existing restaurants near the area in which a new restaurant opens may decline due to the opening of the new restaurant.

Our revenues and operating results may fluctuate significantly due to various risks and unexpected circumstances, including increases in costs, seasonality, weather, and other factors outside our control.

        We are subject to a number of significant risks that might cause our actual quarterly and annual results to fluctuate significantly or be negatively affected. These risks include but are not limited to: extended periods of inclement weather which may affect guest visits as well as limit the availability and cost of key commodities such as beef, poultry, potatoes and other items that are important ingredients in our products; material disruptions in our supply chain; changes in borrowings and interest rates; changes to accounting methods or philosophies; impairment of long-lived assets, including goodwill, and losses on restaurant closures; unanticipated expenses from natural disasters and repairs to damaged or lost property.

        Moreover, our business fluctuates seasonally. Historically, sales in most of our restaurants have been higher during the summer months and winter holiday season. As a result, our quarterly and annual operating results and comparable restaurant sales may fluctuate significantly as a result of seasonality and the factors discussed above. Accordingly, results for any one quarter or year are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other quarter or for any year, and comparable restaurant sales for any particular future period may decrease.

Decreased cash flow from operations, or an inability to access credit could negatively affect our business initiatives or may result in our inability to execute our revenue, expense and capital deployment strategies.

        Our ability to fund our operating plans and to implement our capital deployment strategies depends on sufficient cash flow from operations or other financing, including using funding under our revolving credit agreement. Our capital deployment strategies include but are not limited to repurchases of our stock, paying down debt, new restaurant development, our brand transformation initiative, investment in advertising, and franchise expansion. If we experience decreased cash flow from operations, our ability to fund our operations and planned initiatives, and to take advantage of growth opportunities, may be delayed or negatively affected. In addition, these disruptions or a negative effect on our revenues could affect our ability to borrow or comply with our covenants under our credit facility. Moreover, any repurchase by us of our shares of common stock will further reduce cash available for operations and future growth, as well as debt repayment.

Our franchisees could take actions that could harm our business, expose us to liability or damage our reputation.

        Franchisees are independent entities and are not our employees, partners, or affiliates. We share with our franchisees what we believe to be best practices in the restaurant industry; however, franchisees operate their restaurants as independent businesses. Consequently, the quality of franchised restaurant operations may be diminished by any number of factors beyond our control. Moreover, franchisees may not successfully operate restaurants in a manner consistent with our standards and requirements or may not hire and train qualified managers and other restaurant personnel. In addition, as independent businesses, franchisees may not be required to comply with the same levels of business or regulatory compliance that we are. While we try to ensure that the quality of our brand and compliance with our operating standards, and the confidentiality thereof, are maintained by all of our franchisees, we cannot provide assurance that our franchisees will avoid actions that negatively affect the reputation of Red Robin or the value of our proprietary information. Our image and reputation

18

and the image and reputation of other franchisees may suffer materially, and system-wide sales could significantly decline if our franchisees do not operate these restaurants according to our standards.

        Further, we are subject to federal and state laws that regulate the offer and sale of franchises and aspects of the licensor-licensee relationship. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could subject us to liability for actions of the franchisees, or expose us to liability to franchisees, or fines and penalties for non-compliance.

Our future success depends on our ability to protect our intellectual property.

        Our business prospects will depend in part on our ability to protect our proprietary information and intellectual property, including the Red Robin®, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers®, Red Robin America's Gourmet Burgers & Spirits®, Red Robin's Burger Works®, "YUMMM®", Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews™ and Red Robin Royalty™ names and logos. We have registered or filed applications for trademarks for these names and logos, among others, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in Canada, and we have applied to register various trademarks in certain other international jurisdictions. Our trademarks could be infringed in ways that leave us without redress, such as by imitation or by filings by others in jurisdictions where we are not currently registered. In addition, we rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how in operating our restaurants, and we employ various methods to protect those trade secrets and that proprietary know-how. However, such methods may not afford adequate protection and others could independently develop similar know-how or obtain access to our know-how, concepts and recipes. Consequently, our business could be negatively affected and less profitable if we are unable to successfully defend and protect our intellectual property.

Risks Related to the Restaurant Industry

Food safety and food-borne illness concerns and any related unfavorable publicity could have an adverse effect on our business.

        We dedicate substantial resources to ensuring that our guests enjoy safe, quality food products. Nonetheless, restaurant businesses such as ours can be adversely affected by publicity resulting from complaints or litigation regarding poor food quality, food-borne illness, personal injury, food tampering, adverse health effects of consumption of various food products or high-calorie foods, or other concerns. Food safety issues also could be caused by food suppliers or distributors and, as a result, could be out of our control. Regardless of the source or cause, any report of food-borne illnesses such as E. coli, hepatitis A, trichinosis or salmonella, and other food safety issues including food tampering or contamination, at one of our or a franchisee's restaurants, could adversely affect our reputation and have a negative impact on our sales. The occurrence of food-borne illnesses or food safety issues could also adversely affect the price and availability of affected ingredients, resulting in higher costs and lower margins.

Health concerns relating to the consumption of beef, chicken, or other food products could affect consumer preferences and could negatively affect our results of operations.

        Consumer preferences could be affected by health concerns about food-related illness, the consumption of beef, the key ingredient in many of our menu items, or negative publicity or publication of government or industry findings concerning food quality, illness and injury. Further, consumers may react negatively to reports concerning our food products or health or other concerns or operating issues stemming from one or more of our restaurants. Such negative publicity, whether or not valid, may negatively affect demand for our food and could result in decreased guest traffic to our restaurants. A decrease in guest traffic to our restaurants as a result of these health concerns or negative publicity or as a result of a change in our menu or concept could materially harm our business and negatively affect our profitability.

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Our failure to remain in compliance with governmental laws and regulations as they continually evolve, and the associated costs of compliance, could cause our business results to suffer.

        Our business is subject to various federal, state, and local government laws and regulations, including, among others, those relating to our employees, public health and safety, food safety, nutritional disclosure, alcoholic beverage control, public accommodations, health care reform, and financial and disclosure reporting and controls. These laws and regulations continually evolve and change. We may fail to maintain compliance with all laws and regulations despite our best efforts. Changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, or failure to comply with them could result in, among other things, increased exposure to litigation, administrative enforcement actions or governmental investigations or proceedings; revocation of required licenses or approvals; fines; and civil and criminal liability. These negative consequences could increase the cost of or interfere with our ability to operate our business and execute our strategies.

        Various federal and state employment laws govern our relationship with our team members and affect operating costs. These laws govern employee classification, wage and payment requirements including tip credit laws, meal and rest breaks, unemployment and other taxes, health care and benefits, workers' compensation rates, citizenship or residency requirements, labor relations, child labor regulations, and discriminatory conduct. Changes in these laws or our failure to comply with enforcement requirements could require changes to our operations that could harm our operating results. For example, although we require all of our team members to provide us with the government-specified documentation evidencing their employment eligibility, some of our team members, without our knowledge, may not meet federal citizenship or residency requirements, which could lead to a disruption in our work force.

        We are subject to "dram shop" statutes in some states. These statutes generally allow a person injured by an intoxicated person to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to such intoxicated person. Failure to comply with alcoholic beverage control or dram shop regulations could subject the Company to liability and could negatively affect our business.

The effect of changes to healthcare laws in the United States may increase the number of employees who chose to participate in our healthcare plans, increase our healthcare costs and negatively impact our financial results.

        Currently, many of our eligible employees choose not to participate in our Company sponsored healthcare plans for various reasons. However, eligible employees who currently choose not to participate in our healthcare plans may find it more advantageous to do so when changes to healthcare laws in the United States become effective in 2014. Such changes include potential penalties to persons for not obtaining healthcare coverage and ineligibility for certain healthcare subsidies under various circumstances. If a large portion of currently eligible but nonparticipating employees choose to enroll when or after the law becomes effective, it may significantly increase our healthcare coverage costs and negatively impact our financial results.

A significant increase in litigation could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and business prospects.

        As a member of the restaurant industry, we are sometimes the subject of complaints or litigation from guests alleging illness, injury, or other food quality, health, or operational concerns. Negative publicity resulting from these allegations could harm our restaurants, regardless of whether the allegations are valid or whether we are liable. In fact, we are subject to the same risks of negative publicity resulting from these sorts of allegations even if the claim actually involves one of our franchisees.

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        In addition, any failure by us to comply with the various federal and state labor laws governing our relationship with our team members including requirements pertaining to minimum wage, overtime pay, meal and rest breaks, unemployment tax rates, workers' compensation rates, citizenship or residency requirements, child labor regulations, and discriminatory conduct, may have a material adverse effect on our business or operations. We have been subject to such claims from time to time. The possibility of a material adverse effect on our business relating to employment litigation is even more pronounced given the high concentration of team members employed in the western United States, as this region, and California in particular, has a substantial amount of legislative and judicial activity pertaining to employment-related issues. Further, employee claims against us based on, among other things, discrimination, harassment, or wrongful termination may divert our financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit the future performance of our operations.

ITEM 1B.    Unresolved Staff Comments

        None.

ITEM 2.    Properties

        We currently lease the real estate for a majority of our Company-owned restaurant facilities under operating leases with remaining terms ranging from less than one year to just over 15 years excluding options to extend. These leases generally contain options which permit us to extend the lease term at an agreed rent or at prevailing market rates. Certain leases provide for contingent rents, which are determined as a percentage of adjusted gross restaurant sales in excess of specified levels. We record a contingent rent liability and the corresponding rent expense when specified levels have been achieved or when management determines that achieving the specified levels during the fiscal year is probable. Certain lease agreements also require the Company to pay maintenance, insurance, and property tax costs.

        We own real estate for 31 Company-owned restaurants located in Arizona (3); Arkansas (2); California (1); Colorado (3); Georgia (1); Illinois (1); Indiana (1); Maryland (1); Missouri (1); North Carolina (3); Ohio (5); Pennsylvania (3); Virginia (4); and Washington (2). In addition, we own a property in Texas which we lease to others.

        Our corporate headquarters are located in Greenwood Village, Colorado. We occupy this facility under a lease that expires on May 31, 2018. We opened a test kitchen and training facility in 2011 located in Englewood, Colorado. We occupy this facility under a lease that expires August 31, 2018.

        Our traditional prototype restaurant is a freestanding building averaging approximately 5,800 square feet and approximately 200 seats. In 2012, we introduced a new, mid-sized prototype of our full service restaurant which is approximately 4,000 square feet. We typically operate our restaurants under ground leases for land on which we build our restaurants. However, we also have begun to develop restaurants using in-line, end cap, and mall locations in addition to our conversions of existing restaurant and other retail structures. Our non-traditional prototype, Red Robin's Burger Works®, allows Red Robin to develop projects in high foot traffic and non-traditional locations such as urban areas/downtowns, stadiums, military bases and airports, as well as in regional retail centers. The typical Red Robin's Burger Works® prototype is between 1,800 and 2,500 square feet, with approximately 50 seats.

ITEM 3.    Legal Proceedings

        In the normal course of business, there are various claims in process, matters in litigation and other contingencies. These include employment related claims and claims from guests or team members alleging illness, injury or other food quality, health or operational concerns. To date, no claims of these types of litigation, certain of which are covered by insurance policies, have had a material effect on us.

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While it is not possible to predict the outcome of these suits, legal proceedings and claims with certainty, management is of the opinion that adequate provision for potential losses associated with these matters has been made in the financial statements and that the ultimate resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

ITEM 4.    Mine Safety Disclosures

        Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5.    Market for the Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

        Our common stock is listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol RRGB. The table below sets forth the high and low per share sales prices for our common stock as reported by The NASDAQ Global Select Market for the indicated periods (based on our fiscal quarters).

        As of February 21, 2013, there were approximately 152 registered owners of our common stock.

Dividends

        We did not declare or pay any cash dividends on our common stock during 2011 and 2012. We currently anticipate that we will retain any future cash flow to fund our operations and expansion of our business, to pay down debt or to repurchase stock. In addition, our credit agreement may limit us from declaring or paying any dividends or making any other repurchases on any of our shares in an aggregate amount not to exceed $50 million and are subject to our leverage ratio. Accordingly, we do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Our credit agreement may also limit our ability to engage in stock repurchases.

        Any future determination relating to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on then existing conditions including our financial condition, results of operations, contractual restrictions, capital requirements, business prospects, and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

        During the fiscal quarter ended December 30, 2012, the Company did not have any sales of securities in transactions that were not registered under the Securities Act that have not been reported

22

in a Current Report on Form 8-K. The table below provides a summary of the Company's purchases of its own common stock during fourth quarter 2012.

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Performance Graph

        The following graph compares the yearly percentage in cumulative total shareholders' return on Common Stock of the Company since December 30, 2007, with the cumulative total return over the same period for (i) the Russell 3000 Index, and (ii) the Bloomberg U.S. Full Service Restaurant Index.

        Pursuant to rules of the SEC, the comparison assumes $100 was invested on December 30, 2007, the last trading day in the Company's 2007 fiscal year, in the Company's Common Stock and in each of the indices.

        This performance graph shall not be deemed to be "soliciting material" or to be "filed" under either the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*
Among Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., The Russell 3000 Index
and Bloomberg U.S. Full Service Restaurant Index

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ITEM 6.    Selected Financial Data

        The table below contains selected consolidated financial and operating data. The statement of income, cash flow and balance sheet data for each year has been derived from our consolidated financial statements. You should read this information together with "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 7.    Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Overview

        Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., a Delaware corporation, together with its subsidiaries ("Red Robin" or the "Company"), primarily develops, operates and franchises casual-dining restaurants with 472 locations as of December 30, 2012, the Company's fiscal year end. The Company operated 339 Company-owned restaurants located in 33 states comprised of 334 casual dining locations and five Red Robin's Burger Works®, a smaller non-traditional prototype with a limited menu and limited service. The Company also franchises restaurants, of which there were 133 restaurants in 21 states and two Canadian provinces as of December 30, 2012.

        The Company operates its business as one operating and one reportable segment.

        Our primary source of revenue is from the sale of food and beverages at Company-owned restaurants. We also earn revenue from royalties and fees from franchised restaurants.

        Our discussion for the year ending December 30, 2012 refers to a 53-week period with the fifty-third week falling in the fourth quarter. The fiscal years ending December 25, 2011 and December 26, 2010 each had 52 weeks.

        The following summarizes the operational and financial highlights of fiscal year 2012:

•

Impact of Fifty-third Week.  The Company's fiscal year ends on the last Sunday of each calendar year. Most of our fiscal years have 52 weeks; however we experience a fifty-third week once every five or six years. In fiscal 2012, the fifty-third week added approximately $21 million to net restaurant sales, $3.1 million to net income and $0.21 to diluted earnings per share.



•

Comparable Restaurant Revenue.  Comparable restaurants include those Company-owned restaurants that have achieved five full quarters of operations during the periods presented, and

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such restaurants are only included in our comparable metrics if they are comparable for the entirety of both periods presented. For 2012, the 307 restaurants in our comparable base experienced a 1.1% increase in net sales compared to the same period last year. This increase resulted from a 1.7% increase in average guest check, partially offset by a 0.6% decrease in guest count. For purposes of comparison, the calculation of the comparable restaurant net sales and related metrics for 2012 was made on a 53-week fiscal year basis by including the first week of the 2012 fiscal year in the comparable restaurant performance for 2011.

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Marketing.  Our Red Robin Royalty™ loyalty program operates in all of our Company-owned restaurants and in 64 of our franchised locations. Engaging our guests through this program is a key part of our marketing strategy and uses offers designed to increase the frequency of guest visits. We are also using the program to generate awareness of new menu items and to engage our guests with smart rewards. Menu items featured included our Red's Tavern Double burger with all-you-can-eat Bottomless Steak Fries® at the everyday value price of $6.99, with popular trade-up Tavern Styles, new shareable appetizers, and special, limited time burgers. Our "Take Back the Bar" initiative continued to increase year over year alcoholic beverage mix, differentiate our brand, and help target adult diners. We utilize television, digital and social media campaigns along with other tools to support our marketing programs. In 2012, we began investing in our brand transformation program to enhance our service, menu, food presentation and other guest experiences.



•

Food Costs.  As a percentage of restaurant revenue, cost of sales in 2012 remained relatively flat compared to the prior year with decreases in produce, poultry and cheese costs offset by increases in potatoes, ground beef, and fry oil as well as a price increase of approximately 0.9%. In particular, the cost of ground beef, which comprised approximately 14% of our cost of goods, increased approximately 9% for 2012, compared to the prior year and we expect ground beef cost will continue to increase throughout 2013. In addition, national and international supply-demand imbalances and other factors such as continued drought conditions throughout a large portion of the United States, continue to increase certain commodity prices, which we believe will have a negative effect on our costs of sales in 2013.



•

Labor.  Labor costs as a percentage of restaurant revenue decreased 20 basis points for the fiscal year 2012 from the same period in 2011. This decrease was primarily driven by higher hourly productivity and leverage on higher sales. Many states in which we operate have increased minimum and tip credit wages beginning in 2013. We anticipate these wage increases will increase our total labor costs which we may not be able to offset with continued productivity improvements.



•

Other Operating Expenses.  Other operating expenses decreased 70 basis points for the fiscal year 2012 over prior year as a percentage of restaurant revenue due to a variety of cost management initiatives that were undertaken in 2011. This decrease was primarily driven by lower cleaning and supply costs, utilities, and repair and maintenance costs.



•

New Restaurant Openings.  We opened 14 new Company-owned restaurants during fiscal year 2012, including four of our limited service non-traditional prototype, Red Robin's Burger Works®. We plan to open 20 company-owned restaurants in 2013, including up to five new Red Robin's Burger Works® restaurants.



•

Refinancing Our Credit Facility.  We closed on a new $225 million credit agreement in December 2012. The new credit facility, a five-year $225 million revolving line of credit, replaces a facility comprised of a $150 million term loan and $100 million revolving line of credit that was scheduled to mature in May 2016. In conjunction with the closing of the credit agreement, we recorded a non-cash, pre-tax charge of approximately $2.9 million, comprised of a write-off of

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unamortized fees from the prior credit agreement and a charge related to the de-designation of an interest rate swap in the fourth fiscal quarter 2012.

Unit Data and Comparable Restaurant Sales

        The following table details data pertaining to the number of restaurants for both Company-owned and franchise locations for the years indicated.

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Results of Operations

        Operating results for each period presented below are expressed as a percentage of total revenues, except for the components of restaurant operating costs, which are expressed as a percentage of restaurant revenues:

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Total Revenues

        Restaurant revenue, which is comprised almost entirely of food and beverage sales, increased by $62.2 million, or 6.9%, for the 53 weeks ended December 30, 2012 as compared to the 52 weeks in fiscal year 2011. The inclusion of the fifty-third week in fiscal 2012 contributed approximately $21 million to restaurant revenue. Adjusting for the extra week, revenue in our comparable restaurant base increased approximately $9.9 million or 1.1% during 2012 primarily as a result of a 1.7% increase in average guest checks partially offset by 0.6% decrease in guest counts. We believe the increase in average guest checks resulted from a combination of menu price increases and increased sales of items including beverages, partially offset by higher discounts including those associated with our Red Robin Royalty™ loyalty program. Revenue from our non-comparable restaurants, those opened since the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, contributed an increase of $28.8 million from fiscal year 2011.

        In 2011, restaurant revenue increased $52.5 million, or 6.2%, from fiscal year 2010. Revenue in our comparable restaurant base increased approximately $19.5 million or 2.3% during 2011. This increase was primarily the result of a 3.3% increase in average guest checks partially offset by 1.0% decrease in guest counts. We believe the average increase in guest checks was driven by a combination of our 2011 menu price increases, and the nationwide rollout of our tri-fold menu, partially offset by discounts including those associated with our Red Robin Royalty loyalty program. Revenue from our non-comparable restaurants, those opened since the fourth quarter of 2010, contributed an increase of approximately $39.9 million from fiscal year 2010.

        Average weekly net sales volumes represent the total restaurant revenue for all Company-owned casual dining restaurants (excluding Red Robin's Burger Works®) for each time period presented, divided by the number of operating weeks in the period. Comparable restaurant average weekly sales volumes include those restaurants that are in the comparable base at the end of each period presented. New restaurants are primarily restaurants that are open but by definition not included in the comparable category because they have not yet operated for five full quarters. Fluctuations in average weekly net sales volumes for comparable restaurants reflect the effect of same store sales changes as well as the performance of new restaurants entering the comparable base during the period and the average square feet of our restaurants.

        Franchise royalties and fees consist primarily of royalty income and initial franchise fees. This revenue increased $0.3 million or 2.5%, from 2011. The year over year increase in franchise royalties and fees is primarily attributable to the overall increase in sales reported by our franchisees. Our franchisees reported that comparable sales increased 1.9% for U.S. restaurants and 4.7% for Canadian

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restaurants for the year ended December 30, 2012. Franchise royalties and fees for 2011 increased over 2010 primarily due to an increase in sales reported by our franchisees as they experienced a 2.7% increase in comparable sales.

        Other revenue consists primarily of gift card breakage. We recognize revenue when a gift card is redeemed by a guest. Gift card breakage revenue is recognized if the likelihood of gift card redemption is remote and we determine that there is not a legal obligation to remit the unredeemed gift card balance to the relevant jurisdiction. We base the gift card breakage rate upon specific historical redemption patterns and recognize gift card breakage by applying our estimate of the rate of gift card breakage over the estimated redemption period. We recognized $1.5 million of gift card breakage during fiscal year 2012. In fiscal year 2011, we recognized $1.7 million of gift card breakage including $438,000 of third-party gift card revenue as an initial cumulative program adjustment for gift card sales sold in third-party retail locations recognized in the first quarter. In fiscal 2010, we recognized $4.3 million of gift card breakage including $3.5 million of breakage revenue as an initial cumulative program adjustment for gift cards sold in our restaurants recognized in the first quarter.

Costs and Expenses

Cost of Sales

        Cost of sales, comprised of food and beverage costs, is variable and generally fluctuates with sales volume. Cost of sales as a percentage of restaurant revenue decreased 10 basis points in fiscal 2012 compared to fiscal 2011. This decrease as a percentage of restaurant revenue was caused by an estimated 90 basis point decrease in produce, cheese, and poultry costs, which were mostly offset by an 80 basis point increase in the cost of potatoes, ground beef, and fry oil.

        Cost of sales as a percentage of restaurant revenue increased 90 basis points in 2011 compared to 2010. This increase was caused by an estimated 60 basis points net increase in commodity costs, including ground beef, potatoes, cheese and fry oil and a 50 basis point increase related to change in product mix to higher cost menu items. These increases were partially offset by a 20 basis point decrease due lower poultry and bread costs as well as leverage on higher sales prices.

Labor

        Labor costs include restaurant-level hourly wages and management salaries as well as related taxes and benefits. In 2012, labor as a percentage of restaurant revenue decreased 20 basis points compared to 2011. This decrease primarily resulted from 50 basis points of lower costs related to higher hourly productivity, leverage on higher sales as well as a reduction in accrued vacation and payroll taxes. These reductions were partially offset by 30 basis points of higher costs related primarily to increases in group insurance costs and variable compensation.

        During 2011, labor as a percentage of restaurant revenue decreased 170 basis points compared to 2010. Approximately 110 basis points of this decrease was due to the leverage of our higher average

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guest check on our fixed labor costs, while approximately 80 basis points decrease was due to increased productivity and lower average hourly wage rates. These decreases were offset by an approximate 30 basis point increase in payroll taxes related to the elimination of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act in 2011 for payroll tax benefits realized in 2010.

Other Operating

        Other operating costs include costs such as restaurant supplies, utilities, and other costs such as service repairs and maintenance costs. During 2012, other operating costs as a percentage of restaurant revenue decreased 70 basis points over the prior year due primarily to a 30 basis point decrease in cleaning and supply costs due to cost management efforts, a 20 basis point decrease in utilities and repair and maintenance costs, and a 20 basis point decrease in payment card processing fees resulting from legislative changes.

        During 2011, other operating costs as a percentage of restaurant revenue decreased 100 basis points from 2010. The decrease as a percentage of restaurant revenue was due primarily to a combination of 50 basis points leverage from higher restaurant revenue, 30 basis points decrease in repairs and maintenance costs, and 20 basis points decrease in costs of supplies related to initiatives to reduce expenses through better cost management.

Occupancy

        Occupancy costs include fixed rents, contingent rents, common area maintenance charges, real estate and personal property taxes, general liability insurance, and other property costs. Occupancy costs incurred prior to opening our new restaurants are included in Pre-opening costs. Our occupancy costs generally increase with increases in sales volume from contingent rents or the addition of new restaurants, but can decline as a percentage of restaurant revenue as we leverage our fixed costs. In 2012, occupancy costs as a percent of restaurant revenue increased 10 basis points over the prior year due mainly to higher fixed rents due mainly to the opening of new restaurants in addition to approximately $1.4 million related to the fifty-third week included in fiscal year 2012. Fixed rents in 2012 were $45.8 million.

        In 2011, occupancy costs as a percent of restaurant revenue decreased 10 basis points. Fixed rents for the fiscal year ended 2011 and 2010 were $42.5 million and $40.7 million, respectively, and increased due to the opening of new restaurants. The decrease of occupancy costs as a percent of restaurant revenue related mainly to the leveraging of fixed costs on higher revenue.

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Depreciation and Amortization

        Depreciation and amortization includes depreciation on capital expenditures for restaurants and corporate assets as well as amortization of acquired franchise rights and liquor licenses. Depreciation and amortization expense remained relatively flat in 2012 as compared to 2011 as the increases related to new restaurant openings were mostly offset by assets that became fully depreciated during the current year. Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of revenue for fiscal year 2012, decreased due to leverage from higher restaurant sales volumes.

        In 2011, depreciation and amortization expense decreased $1.5 million, or 2.6% due, in part, by five-year depreciable equipment for 24 restaurants which were open in 2005 becoming fully depreciated. Depreciation and amortization expense decreased as a percentage of revenue in fiscal year 2011 due primarily to leverage from higher restaurant sales volumes.

Selling, General and Administrative

        Selling, general and administrative costs include all corporate and administrative functions. Components of this category include corporate, regional and franchise support salaries and benefits, travel, information systems, training, office rent, professional and consulting fees, board of directors' expenses, legal expenses and marketing costs.

        In fiscal 2012, selling, general and administrative costs increased $7.7 million from 2011 primarily due to $3.5 million higher gift card fees and production costs, $3.1 million higher salaries and benefits partially due to the extra week in fiscal 2012, and $1.1 million higher consulting fees associated with information technology infrastructure changes.

        Selling, general and administrative costs in 2011 increased $10.2 million from 2010 due to a $6.5 million increase in accrued performance-based compensation, $3.1 million in expenses related to information technology infrastructure investments and $1.5 million increase in legal expenses. Our marketing costs remained flat compared to 2010.

Pre-opening Costs

        Pre-opening costs, which are expensed as incurred, consist of the costs of labor, hiring, and training the initial work force for our new restaurants, travel expenses for our training teams, the cost of food and beverages used in training, marketing costs, occupancy costs incurred prior to opening, and other

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direct costs related to the opening of new restaurants. Pre-opening costs for 2012, 2011, and 2010 reflect the opening of 14, 13, and 11 new restaurants, respectively. Average per restaurant pre-opening costs represents total costs incurred for those restaurants that opened for business during the periods presented including Red Robin's Burger Works® restaurants. The fiscal 2012 average per restaurant pre-opening costs decreased over fiscal 2011 due primarily to the inclusion of four Red Robin's Burger Works® restaurants which were opened in fiscal 2012. Pre-opening costs for these smaller-scale restaurants are lower than the pre-opening costs for our traditional size restaurants.

Asset Impairment Charge and Restaurant Closure Costs

        During fiscal year 2012, the Company determined that no Company-owned restaurants were impaired. During fiscal year 2011, the Company determined that three Company-owned restaurants were impaired, recognizing a pre-tax non-cash impairment charge of $4.3 million. During fiscal year 2010, the Company determined that four Company-owned restaurants were impaired, and the Company recognized a pre-tax non-cash impairment charge of $6.1 million resulting from the continuing and projected losses of these restaurants. The Company reviewed each restaurant's past and present operating performance combined with projected future results, primarily through projected undiscounted cash flows, which indicated impairment. The carrying amount of each restaurant was compared to its fair value as determined by management. The impairment charge represents the excess of each restaurant's carrying amount over its fair value.

        We closed three, zero, and three restaurants in fiscal 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively. We recognized charges of $0.3 million in fiscal 2012 and $0.9 million in fiscal 2010 related to lease terminations and other closing related costs. The three closed restaurants in 2010 were not part of the impairment charge taken in fiscal 2010.

Interest Expense

        Interest expense in 2012, 2011, and 2010 was $5.7 million, $5.9 million, and $5.1 million, respectively. Interest expense was lower in 2012 than 2011 due to a lower average debt balance, partially offset by a higher weighted average interest rate of 3.9% versus 3.4% in 2011. Interest expense in 2011 was higher than 2010 due primarily to a higher weighted average interest rate of 3.4% versus 3.0% in 2010.

Loss on Debt Refinancing

        On December 14, 2012, we entered into a new credit facility ("New Credit Facility") thereby terminating our previous credit facility, which had been amended and restated on May 6, 2011 ("Previous Facility"). See Liquidity and Capital Resources, Credit Facility for further discussion. Due to the debt refinancing, we re-designated our variable-to-fixed interest rate swap agreement which was used to hedge the floating interest rate on a portion of the outstanding term loan under the Previous Facility. The Company recorded a non-cash pre-tax charge of $1.2 million as a result of the de-designation to recognize net losses that had been previously recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss. We also recognized a non-cash pre-tax charge of $1.7 million to write-off certain unamortized loan origination costs associated with the Previous Facility.

Provision for Income Taxes

        The provision for income taxes increased $7.0 million to $8.5 million in 2012 as compared to $1.5 million in 2011 and a tax benefit of $2.6 million in 2010. Our effective income tax rate was 23.1% in 2012, 6.8% for 2011, and a 54.3% benefit for 2010. The increase in our effective tax rate for fiscal 2012 is primarily attributable to the increase in earnings before income taxes as well as a decrease in general business tax credits. The increase in 2011 was primarily attributable to the increase in earnings

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before income taxes. We would expect to see volatility in our tax rate given changes in income before taxes and income tax credits.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

General

        Cash and cash equivalents decreased $12.6 million to $22.4 million at December 30, 2012, from $35.0 million at the beginning of the fiscal year. This decrease in our cash position was primarily the net result of:

•

$147.0 million used for debt payments;



•

$60.0 million used for the construction of new restaurants, expenditures for facility improvements, and investments in information technology;



•

$24.3 million used for the purchase of Company stock; and



•

$3.2 million used for the acquisition of a franchise restaurant; partially offset by



•

$125.0 million provided by borrowings under the New Credit Facility; and



•

$94.4 million of cash provided by operating activities.

        We expect to continue to reinvest available cash flows from operations to develop new restaurants or invest in existing restaurants and infrastructure, pay down debt, and maintain the flexibility to use excess cash to opportunistically repurchase our common stock and execute our long term strategic initiatives.

Cash Flows

        The table below summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities for each of the past three fiscal years (in thousands):

Operating Cash Flows

        Net cash flows provided by operating activities were $94.4 million in 2012 compared to $95.7 million in 2011. The $1.3 million decrease over prior year is primarily due to increases in selling, general and administrative costs, a higher rate of redemptions relative to cash receipts from gift cards and incentive programs, and cash payments for income taxes, which more than offset $20.1 million of increases in cash flow related to improved restaurant operating costs, sales increases from new and existing restaurants and the addition of a fifty-third operating week in 2012.

        Net cash provided by operating activities increased $25.1 million to $95.7 million in 2011 as compared to $70.6 million in 2010. Of the $25.1 million increase, approximately $18.2 million was related to a reduction in restaurant operating costs, primarily attributable to labor efficiencies, and approximately $7.4 million was due mainly to newly opened restaurants, partially offset by $0.8 million from restaurants closed during 2010.

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Investing Cash Flows

        Net cash flows used in investing activities increased $19.9 million from $43.4 million in 2011 to $63.3 million in 2012. The increase over prior year is due primarily to increased investments in brand transformation initiatives, technology infrastructure, and $3.2 million paid to acquire a franchise restaurant in 2012. The following table lists the components of our investing activities for fiscal 2012 (in millions):

        Net cash flows used in investing activities were $43.4 million in 2011 compared to $35.1 million in 2010 and consisted primarily of purchases of property and equipment. The $8.3 million increase in 2011 primarily related to 13 restaurant openings in 2011 compared to 11 openings in 2010, as well as increased investments in technology infrastructure. Investing cash flows included $44.1 million and $35.0 million in capital expenditures in 2011 and 2010, respectively.

        In fiscal year 2013, capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $50 to $55 million though this amount may increase if we determine to expand the number of restaurant remodels. In addition to the construction of new restaurants, we will continue our investment in restaurant remodels and capital improvements. We will also make significant investments in our data infrastructure including the replacement of several key operational and financial systems.

Financing Cash Flows

        Cash used in our financing activities increased $8.5 million from $35.2 million in 2011 to $43.7 million in 2012. This increase is due primarily to a $20.5 million increase in net debt payments partially offset by $8.7 million decrease in cash used to repurchase stock, $2.8 million decrease in cash used to refinance our credit facility in 2012, and $0.7 million increase in cash proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options and the employee stock purchase plan.

        Net cash flows used in financing activities were $35.2 million in 2011 compared to $37.9 million in 2010. The $2.7 million decrease in cash used in financing activities primarily relates to a $37.2 million decrease in net debt payments combined with an increase of $2.1 million in proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options and employee stock purchase plan, mostly offset by $33.0 million in repurchases of stock and $3.7 million of debt issuance costs related to our 2011 refinancing.

        Credit Facility.    We entered into our Previous Facility on May 6, 2011 in order to provide a more flexible capital structure and facilitate our growth plans. Borrowings under the Previous Facility could be used by us for general corporate purposes including, among other uses, to repurchase shares of our capital stock, to continue to finance restaurant construction, and for working capital and general corporate requirements. The Previous Facility was comprised of (i) a $100 million revolving credit facility maturing on May 6, 2016 and (ii) a $150 million term loan maturing on May 6, 2016, both with rates based on the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") plus a spread based on leverage or a base rate plus a spread based on leverage (base rate is the highest of (a) the Prime Rate, (b) the Federal Funds Rate plus 0.50% and (c) LIBOR for an Interest Period of one month plus 1%). The Previous Facility also allowed us, subject to lender participation, to increase the revolving credit facility

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or term loan by up to an additional $100 million in the future. As part of the Previous Facility, we could request the issuance of up to $20 million in letters of credit, the outstanding amount of which reduces the net borrowing capacity under the revolving credit facility. The Previous Facility required the payment of an annual commitment fee based upon the unused portion of the credit facility. The Previous Facility's interest rates and the annual commitment rate were based on a financial leverage ratio, as defined in the credit agreement. Our obligations under the Previous Facility were secured by first priority liens and security interests in substantially all of our assets, which included the capital stock of our certain subsidiaries. Additionally, the Previous Facility included a negative pledge on all tangible and intangible assets (including all real and personal property) with customary exceptions.

        On December 14, 2012, we terminated the Previous Facility and entered into a new credit facility ("New Credit Facility") with a consortium of banks. The New Credit Facility provides for a $225 million revolving line of credit with a sublimit for the issuance of up to $25 million in letters of credits and swingline loans up to $15 million, and maintains the option to increase this credit facility in the future, subject to lenders' participation, by up to an additional $100 million in the aggregate. Borrowings under the New Credit Facility are subject to rates based on LIBOR plus a spread based on leverage or a base rate plus a spread based on leverage (base rate is the highest of (a) the Prime Rate, (b) the Federal Funds Rate plus 0.50% and (c) LIBOR for an interest period of one month plus 1%). This $225 million revolving line of credit matures on December 14, 2017. Borrowings under the New Credit Facility are secured by first priority liens and security interests in substantially all of our assets, which include the capital stock of our certain subsidiaries, and are available for financing activities including restaurant construction costs, working capital and general corporate purposes, including, among other uses, to refinance certain indebtedness, permitted acquisitions and redemption of capital stock. We do not believe that any of our lenders will not be able to fulfill their lending commitments under our New Credit Facility. As of December 30, 2012, we had outstanding borrowings under the New Credit Facility revolver of $125.0 million.

        Proceeds from the New Credit Facility were used to repay the $121.9 million outstanding balance of the term loan of the Previous Facility and to pay related transaction fees and expenses associated with the refinancing of debt. Loan origination costs associated with the New Credit Facility are included as deferred costs in other assets, net in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of December 30, 2012.

        In August 2011, we entered into a variable-to-fixed interest rate swap agreement with Rabobank International, Utrecht ("Rabobank") to hedge the floating interest rate on a portion of the term loan under our Previous Facility. The interest rate swap had an effective date of August 5, 2011 and an initial notional amount of $74.1 million. In accordance with its original terms $4.7 million and $0.9 million of the initial $74.1 million expired in 2012 and 2011 respectively. The remaining notional amount of $68.4 million decreases quarterly and is set to expire on June 30, 2015 with a notional hedge amount of $50.6 million. Under the swap, we are required to make quarterly payments based on a fixed interest rate of 1.135%, calculated based on the remaining notional amount. In exchange, we receive interest on the notional amount at a variable rate that is based on the 3-month spot LIBOR rate quarterly. Concurrent with the December 14, 2012 refinancing of the loan agreement that was designated as being hedged by this swap, the Company de-designated the original hedging relationship for this swap and consequently reclassified all deferred gains and losses that had been deferred in accumulated other comprehensive loss, a non-cash pre-tax charge of $1.2 million, into earnings. On December 14, 2012, the Company re-designated the swap on the New Credit Facility's $225 million revolver.

        Covenants.    We are subject to a number of customary covenants under our New Credit Facility, including limitations on additional borrowings, acquisitions, stock repurchases, sales of assets, and dividend payments. As of December 30, 2012, we were in compliance with all debt covenants.

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        Debt Outstanding.    Total debt outstanding decreased $21.9 million to $135.0 million at December 30, 2012 from $156.9 million at December 25, 2011, primarily due to our net repayment of the $21.1 million outstanding under our Previous Facility and New Credit Facility, as well as payments on our capital lease obligations of approximately $0.8 million. Our New Credit Facility matures in 2017.

        Stock Repurchase.    In August 2010, the Company's board of directors authorized a repurchase of up to $50.0 million of the Company's common stock which was scheduled to expire on December 31, 2011. On October 26, 2011, the Company's board of directors re-authorized a repurchase of up to $50.0 million of the Company's common stock. This authorization expired on December 31, 2012. In fiscal 2012, we repurchased 802,722 shares with an average purchase price of $30.28 per share for a total of $24.3 million. In fiscal 2011, we repurchased 1.2 million shares with an average purchase price of $27.56 per share for a total of $33.0 million.

        On November 15, 2012, the Company's board of directors re-authorized a repurchase of up to $50 million of the Company's common stock. This authorization became effective on January 1, 2013, and will terminate upon completing the repurchase of $50 million of common stock unless earlier terminated by the Company's board of directors. Purchases may be made from time to time at the Company's discretion and the timing and amount of any share repurchases will be determined based on share price, market conditions, legal requirements and other factors. The repurchase program does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular amount of common stock, and it may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

        Contractual Obligations.    The following table summarizes the amounts of payments due under specified contractual obligations as of December 30, 2012 (in thousands):

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        Financial Condition and Future Liquidity.    We require capital principally to grow the business through new restaurant construction, as well as to maintain, improve and refurbish existing restaurants, support for infrastructure needs, and for general operating purposes. In addition, we have and may continue to use capital to pay principal on our borrowings and repurchase our common stock. Our primary short-term and long-term sources of liquidity are expected to be cash flows from operations and our revolving credit facility. Based upon current levels of operations and anticipated growth, we expect that cash flows from operations will be sufficient to meet debt service, capital expenditures, and working capital requirements for at least the next twelve months. We and the restaurant industry in general maintain relatively low levels of accounts receivable and inventories, and vendors generally grant short-term trade credit for purchases, such as food and supplies. We also continually invest in our business through the addition of new restaurants and refurbishment of existing restaurants, which are reflected as long-term assets and not as part of working capital.

        We typically maintain current liabilities in excess of our current assets which results in a working capital deficit. We are able to operate with a working capital deficit because restaurant sales are primarily conducted on a cash or credit card basis. Rapid turnover of inventory results in limited investment in inventories, and cash from sales is usually received before related payables for food, supplies and payroll become due. In addition, receipts from the sale of gift cards are received well in advance of related redemptions. Rather than maintain higher cash balances that would result from this pattern of operating cash flows, we typically utilize operating cash flows in excess of those required for currently-maturing liabilities to pay for capital expenditures, debt repayment or to repurchase stock. When necessary, we utilize our revolving credit facility to satisfy short-term liquidity requirements. However, we believe that our future cash flows will be sufficient to satisfy any working capital deficits.

Inflation

        The primary inflationary factors affecting our operations are food, labor costs, energy costs, and materials used in the construction of new restaurants. A large number of our restaurant personnel are paid at rates based on the applicable minimum wage, and increases in the minimum wage have directly affected our labor costs in recent years. Many of our leases require us to pay taxes, maintenance, repairs, insurance, and utilities, all of which are generally subject to inflationary increases. We believe inflation had a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations in fiscal year 2012, due primarily to higher costs for certain supplies, and commodity prices for certain foods we purchased at market rates. Our ground beef, which is purchased on the spot market, has consistently been higher than 2011 prices, our ground beef costs were approximately 9% higher than 2011. Uncertainties related to fluctuations in costs, including energy costs, commodity prices, annual indexed wage increases and construction materials make it difficult to predict what impact, if any, inflation may have on our business during 2013, but it is anticipated that inflation will continue to have a negative impact in fiscal year 2013.

Seasonality

        Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations. Historically, sales in most of our restaurants have been higher during the summer months and winter holiday season. As a result, our quarterly and annual operating results and comparable restaurant sales may fluctuate significantly as a result of seasonality. Accordingly, results for any one quarter or year are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other quarter or for any year, and comparable restaurant sales for any particular future period may decrease.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

        We have identified the following as the Company's most critical accounting policies, which are those that are most important to the portrayal of the Company's financial condition and results and

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require management's most subjective and complex judgment. Information regarding the Company's other significant accounting policies is disclosed in Note 1, Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

        Impairment of Long-Lived Assets.    Long-lived assets, including restaurant sites, leasehold improvements, other fixed assets, and amortizable intangible assets are reviewed when indicators of impairment are present. Expected cash flows associated with an asset are the key factor in determining the recoverability of the asset. Identifiable cash flows are measured at the restaurant level. The estimate of cash flows is based upon, among other things, certain assumptions about expected future operating performance, including assumptions on future revenue trends. Management's estimates of undiscounted cash flows may differ from actual cash flows due to, among other things, changes in economic conditions, changes to our business model, or changes in operating performance. If the sum of the undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying value of the asset, we recognize an impairment loss, measured as the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value of the asset.

        Judgments made by management related to the expected useful lives of long-lived assets and our ability to realize undiscounted cash flows in excess of the carrying amounts of such assets are affected by factors such as the ongoing maintenance and improvements of the assets, changes in economic conditions, and changes in operating performance. As the ongoing expected cash flows and carrying amounts of long-lived assets are assessed, these factors could cause us to realize a material impairment charge. During fiscal 2012, the Company determined that no Company-owned restaurants were impaired. During 2011, we determined that three Company-owned restaurants were impaired. We recognized a non-cash pre-tax impairment charge of $4.3 million resulting from the continuing and projected future results of these restaurants, primarily through projected cash flows. We reviewed each restaurant's past and present operating performance combined with projected future results, primarily through projected undiscounted cash flows, which indicated possible impairment. We compared the carrying amount of each restaurant's assets to its fair value as estimated by management. The fair value of the long-lived assets was determined using a discounted cash flows projection model that uses several scenarios that estimate expected future cash flows. The discount factor was determined using external information regarding the risk-free rate of return, industry beta factors, and premium adjustments. These factors were combined with internal information such as our average cost of debt and effective tax rate to determine a weighted average cost of capital which was applied to the undiscounted cash flows. The impairment charges represent the excess of each restaurant's carrying amount over its estimated fair value. During 2010, we determined that the long lived assets of four Company-owned restaurants were impaired, and we recognized a non-cash impairment charge of $6.1 million resulting from the continuing and projected losses of these restaurants. We may record future impairments for restaurants whose operating performance falls below current expectations. We have followed a consistent approach to evaluating whether there are impairments of long-lived assets. We make adjustments to assumptions to reflect management's view of current market and economic conditions and with respect to conditions at specific locations.

        Goodwill.    We evaluate goodwill annually or more frequently if indicators of impairment are present. We performed step one of the impairment test as of December 30, 2012. Step one of the impairment test is based upon a comparison of the carrying value of our net assets, including goodwill balances, to the fair value of our net assets. Fair value is measured using a combination of the market capitalization method, the income approach, and the market approach. The market capitalization method uses the Company's stock price to derive fair value. The income approach consists of utilizing the discounted cash flow method that incorporates our estimates of future revenues and costs, discounted using a risk-adjusted discount rate. Our estimates used in the income approach are consistent with the plans and estimates used to manage operations. The market approach utilizes multiples of profit measures in order to estimate the fair value of the assets. We do evaluate all

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methods to ensure reasonably consistent results. Additionally, we evaluate the key input factors in the models used to determine whether a moderate change in any input factor or combination of factors would significantly change the results of the tests. Based on the completion of the step one test, we determined that goodwill was not impaired as of December 30, 2012, as the percentage by which the fair value exceeded the carrying value was approximately 49%. However, an impairment charge may be triggered in the future, if the value of our stock declines, sales in our restaurants decline, or if there are significant adverse changes in the operating environment of the restaurant industry. We have followed a consistent approach to evaluating whether there are impairments of goodwill. The Company makes adjustments to assumptions to reflect management's view of current market and economic conditions.

        Lease Accounting.    Under the provisions of certain of our leases, there are rent holidays and/or escalations in payments over the base lease term, as well as renewal periods. The effects of rent holidays and escalations are reflected in rent costs on a straight-line basis over the expected lease term, which includes cancelable option periods when it is deemed to be reasonably assured that we will exercise such option periods due to the fact that we would incur an economic penalty for not doing so. The lease term commences on the date when we become legally obligated for the rent payments which coincides with the time when the landlord delivers the property for us to develop and we waive contract contingencies. All rent costs recognized during construction periods are expensed immediately as pre-opening expenses.

        Judgments made by management for its lease obligations include the probable term for each lease that affects the classification and accounting for a lease as capital or operating; the rent holidays and/or escalations in payments that are taken into consideration when calculating straight-line rent; incremental borrowing rates; and the term over which leasehold improvements for each restaurant facility are amortized. These judgments may produce materially different amounts of depreciation, amortization and rent expense than would be reported if different assumed lease terms were used. We have not made any changes to the nature of the assumptions used to account for leases in the past three years.

        Insurance/Self-Insurance Liabilities.    The Company is self-insured for a portion of losses related to group health insurance, general liability and workers' compensation. We maintain stop-loss coverage with third party insurers to limit our total exposure. The self-insurance liability represents an estimate of the cost of claims incurred and unpaid as of the balance sheet date. The estimated liability is not discounted and is established based upon analysis of historical data and actuarial based estimates, as well as incurred but not reported claims, and is closely monitored and adjusted when warranted by changing circumstances. Should a greater number of claims occur compared to what was estimated, or should medical costs or other claim costs increase beyond what was expected, our accrued liabilities might not be sufficient, and additional expenses may be recorded. Actual claims experience could also be more favorable than estimated, resulting in expense reductions. Unanticipated changes in our estimates may produce materially different amounts of expense than that reported historically under these programs. We have not made any significant changes to the nature of the assumptions used to account our self-insurance liabilities in the past three years.

        Income Taxes.    The determination of the Company's provision for income taxes requires management's judgment in the use of estimates and the interpretation and application of complex tax laws. Judgment is also required in assessing the timing and amounts of deductible and taxable items. The Company establishes contingency reserves for material, known tax exposures relating to deductions, transactions and other matters involving some uncertainty as to the proper tax treatment of the item. The Company's reserves reflect its judgment as to the resolution of the issues involved if subject to judicial review. Several years may elapse before a particular matter, for which the Company has established a reserve, is audited and finally resolved or clarified. While the Company believes that its

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reserves are adequate to cover reasonably expected tax risks, issues raised by a tax authority may be finally resolved at an amount different than the related reserve. Such differences could materially increase or decrease the Company's income tax provision in the current and/or future periods. When facts and circumstances change (including a resolution of an issue or statute of limitations expiration), these reserves are adjusted through the provision for income taxes in the period of change. To the extent the Company determines that it will not realize the benefit of some or all of its deferred tax assets, then these assets will be adjusted through the Company's provision for income taxes in the period in which this determination is made.

        Unearned Revenues.    Unearned revenues represent our liability for gift cards that have been sold but not yet redeemed, as well as, deferred revenues related to our loyalty program. We recognize sales when the gift card is redeemed by the customer. Although there are no expiration dates or dormancy fees for our gift cards, based on our historical gift card redemption patterns, we can reasonably estimate the amount of gift cards for which redemption is remote, which is referred to as "breakage." We recognize breakage within other revenue for unused gift card amounts in proportion to actual gift card redemptions, which is also referred to as the "redemption recognition" method. The estimated value of gift cards expected to go unused is recognized over the expected period of redemption as the remaining gift card values are redeemed. Utilizing this method, we estimate both the amount of breakage and the time period of redemption. If actual redemption patterns vary from our estimates, actual gift card breakage income may differ from the amounts recorded. We update our estimate of our breakage rate periodically and apply that rate to gift card redemptions.

        In January 2011, we began rolling out our Red Robin Royalty™ loyalty program in all Company-owned restaurants. Under the terms of the program, a registered member receives an award for a free entrée after the purchase of nine qualifying entrées. We recognize the current sale of an entrée and defer a portion of the revenue to reflect partial pre-payment for the future entrée the member is entitled to receive. We estimate the future value of the award based on the historical average value of redemptions. We also estimate what portion of registered members are not likely to reach the ninth purchase based on historical activity and recognize the deferred revenue related to those purchases. We recognize the deferred revenue on earned rewards when redeemed or upon expiration, which is 60 days after the award is earned. We compare the estimate of the value of future awards to historical redemptions to evaluate the reasonableness of the deferred amount

        Stock-Based Compensation.    We account for stock-based compensation in accordance with fair value recognition provisions, under which we recognize stock-based compensation using the Black-Scholes or Monte Carlo (for performance-based units) option pricing model and recognize expense on a graded vesting basis over the requisite service periods of an option. Determining the appropriate fair value model and calculating the fair value of stock-based payment awards require the input of highly subjective and judgmental assumptions including volatility, forfeiture rates, and expected option life. If any of the assumptions used in the model change significantly, stock-based compensation expense may differ materially in the future from that recorded in the current period. We have not made any changes to the nature of the assumptions used to account for stock-based compensation in the past three years, other than an increase in the forfeiture rate we apply to officer grants, due to the recent officer transitions. During 2010, the Company granted performance-based restricted stock units ("PSUs") to executives and other key employees. These PSUs contain a market condition based on Total Shareholder Return and measure the overall stock price performance of the Company to the stock price performance of a selected industry peer group. The actual number of PSUs subject to the awards will be determined at the end of the performance period based on these performance metrics. The fair value of the PSUs was calculated using the Monte Carlo valuation method. This method utilizes multiple input variables to determine the probability of the Company achieving the market condition and the fair value of the awards. This method uses judgment and estimation which is the responsibility of management.

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Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

        Except for operating leases (primarily restaurant leases) entered into the normal course of business, we do not have any material off balance sheet arrangements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

        In May 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. This pronouncement was issued to provide a consistent definition of fair value and ensure that the fair value measurement and disclosure requirements are similar between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. The new guidance changes certain fair value measurement principles and enhances the disclosure requirements particularly for Level 3 fair value measurements. We adopted this pronouncement in the first quarter of 2012. The adoption of this guidance did not have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

        In June 2011 and as updated in December 2011, the FASB updated its guidance regarding comprehensive income to require companies to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. The updated guidance eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in equity. This guidance was adopted retrospectively in the first quarter of 2012 and did not have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

        In September 2011, the FASB issued Testing Goodwill for Impairment. The new guidance simplifies how entities test goodwill for impairment and permits an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test. This guidance was adopted in the first quarter of 2012 and did not have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Newly Issued Accounting Standards

        In July 2012, the FASB issued Intangibles—Testing Indefinite Lived Intangibles for Impairment, which modifies the impairment test for indefinite-lived intangible assets. Under the new guidance, an entity is permitted to make a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. If it is determined through the qualitative assessment that the indefinite-lived intangible asset's fair value is more likely than not greater than its carrying value, the quantitative impairment calculations would be unnecessary. The qualitative assessment is optional, allowing companies to go directly to the quantitative assessment. The guidance is effective for impairment tests for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012, however, earlier adoption is allowed. As the guidance does not change the underlying principle that the carrying amount of an indefinite-lived intangible asset should not exceed its fair value, the adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

        In January 2013, the FASB issued Clarifying the Scope of Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities, which clarifies the scope of transactions that are subject to the disclosures about offsetting and will require disclosure of information about the effect or potential effect of financial instrument netting arrangements on financial position. Entities will be required to present both net (offset amounts) and gross information in the notes to the financial statements for relevant assets and liabilities that are offset. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1,

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2013, and interim periods within those annual periods. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

        In February 2013, the FASB issued Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which requires an entity to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. In addition, an entity is required to present, either on the face of the statement where net income is presented or in the notes, significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income but only if the amount reclassified is required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified to net income in its entirety in the same reporting period. For other amounts that are not required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified in their entirety to net income, an entity is required to cross-reference to other disclosures required under U.S. GAAP that provide additional detail about those amounts. The guidance is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2012, however, earlier adoption is allowed. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

ITEM 7A.    Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

        Under our New Credit Facility, we are exposed to market risk from changes in interest rates on borrowings, which bear interest at one of the following rates we select: an Alternate Base Rate ("ABR"), based on the Prime Rate plus 0.50% to 1.25%, or the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR"), based on the relevant one, three or six-month LIBOR, at our discretion, plus 1.50% to 2.25%. The spread, or margin, for ABR and LIBOR loans under the New Credit Facility is subject to quarterly adjustment based on our then current leverage ratio, as defined by the credit agreement. As of December 30, 2012, we had $56.5 million of borrowings subject to variable interest rates. A 1.0% change in the effective interest rate applied to these loans would have resulted in pre-tax interest expense fluctuation of $0.6 million on an annualized basis.

        Our objective in managing exposure to interest rate changes is to limit the effect of interest rate changes on earnings and cash flows and to lower overall borrowing costs. To achieve this objective, we have used an interest rate swap and may use other means such as caps to manage our net exposure to interest rate changes related to our borrowings. As appropriate, on the date derivative contracts are entered into, we designate derivatives as either a hedge of the fair value of a recognized asset or liability or of an unrecognized firm commitment (fair value hedge), or a hedge of a forecasted transaction or of the variability of cash flows to be received or paid related to a recognized asset or liability (cash flow hedge).

        In August 2011, we entered into a variable-to-fixed interest rate swap agreement with Rabobank International, Utrecht ("Rabobank") to hedge the floating interest rate on a portion of the term loan under our Previous Facility. The interest rate swap had an effective date of August 5, 2011 and an initial notional amount of $74.1 million. In accordance with its original terms $4.7 million and $0.9 million of the initial $74.1 million expired in 2012 and 2011 respectively. The remaining notional amount of $68.4 million decreases quarterly and is set to expire on June 30, 2015 with a notional hedge amount of $50.6 million. Under the swap, we are required to make quarterly payments based on a fixed interest rate of 1.135%, calculated based on the remaining notional amount. In exchange, we receive interest on the notional amount at a variable rate that is based on the 3-month spot LIBOR rate quarterly. Concurrent with the December 14, 2012 refinancing of the loan agreement that was designated as being hedged by this swap, the Company de-designated the original hedging relationship for this swap and consequently reclassified all deferred gains and losses that had been deferred in accumulated other comprehensive loss, a non-cash pre-tax charge of $1.2 million, into earnings. On December 14, 2012, the Company re-designated the swap on the New Credit Facility's $225 million revolver. Refer to Note 8, Derivative and Other Comprehensive Income, of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this report.

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        Primarily all of our transactions are conducted, and our accounts are denominated, in United States dollars. Accordingly, we are not exposed to significant foreign currency risk.

        Many of the food products we purchase are affected by changes in weather, production, availability, seasonality, and other factors outside our control. In an effort to mitigate some of this risk, we have entered into fixed price agreements on some of our food and beverage products, including certain proteins, produce and cooking oil. As of the end of fiscal year 2012, approximately 40% of our estimated annual food and beverage purchases were covered by fixed price contracts, most of which are scheduled to expire at various times during fiscal year 2013. These contracts may exclude related expenses such as fuel surcharges and other fees. In addition, we believe that almost all of our food and supplies are available from several sources, which helps to reduce or mitigate these risks.

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ITEM 8.    Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

RED ROBIN GOURMET BURGERS, INC.

INDEX

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.
Greenwood Village, Colorado

        We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 30, 2012 and December 25, 2011, and the related consolidated statements of income, stockholders' equity, comprehensive income, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 30, 2012. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

        We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

        In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 30, 2012 and December 25, 2011, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 30, 2012, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

        We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 30, 2012, based on the criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 28, 2013 expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.

/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

Denver, Colorado
February 28, 2013

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RED ROBIN GOURMET BURGERS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except share amounts)