Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. Business
Overview
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, primarily operates, franchises, and develops casual dining restaurants in North America famous for serving more than 20 craveable, high-quality burgers with Bottomless Steak Fries ® and sides 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", or the "Company" refer to Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. and our consolidated subsidiaries.
As of the end of our fiscal year on December 29, 2024, there were 498 Red Robin restaurants, of which 407 were Company-owned and 91 were operated by 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 29, 2024, there were Red Robin restaurants in 39 states and one Canadian province.
The Company operates its business as one (1) operating and one (1) reportable segment. Financial information for our operating segment is included in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The Company's fiscal year is 52 or 53 weeks ending the last Sunday of the calendar year. We refer to our fiscal years as 2024, 2023, and 2022 throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our fiscal years, fiscal year end dates, and the number of weeks in each period are summarized in the table below:
Fiscal Year Year End Date Number of Weeks in Fiscal Year
Current and Prior Fiscal Years:
2024 December 29, 2024 52
2023 December 31, 2023 53
2022 December 25, 2022 52
Upcoming Fiscal Years:
2025 December 28, 2025 52
2026 December 27, 2026 52
Business Strategy
In January of 2023, the Company released its North Star five-point plan designed to enhance the Company's competitive positioning. The North Star five-point plan consists of the following:
• Transform to an Operations Focused Restaurant Company:
◦ Empower decision making by operators at the unit level
◦ Incentivize and reward operators to drive business growth and results
◦ Restructured support organization
• Elevate the Guest Experience:
◦ Invest in people, food quality, and the restaurant facility
◦ New cooking platform to fully deliver on our commitment of Gourmet Burgers
◦ Menu refresh adding variety of both offerings and price points
• Remove Costs and Complexity:
◦ Optimize the supply chain to reduce costs and ensure consistent delivery of high-quality product
◦ Evaluate vendors for need, performance, and competitive costs
◦ Implement ongoing process to reduce costs through actions that uphold our commitment to a great Guest experience
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• Optimize Guest Engagement:
◦ Engage and support local communities in which we operate
◦ Enhance the off-premises experience
◦ Further build and engage Guests through Red Robin Royalty ® loyalty program
• Drive Growth in Comparable Restaurant Revenue & Unit Level Profitability, and Deliver Financial Commitments:
◦ Regain credibility with the investment community
◦ Drive performance in the existing base of restaurants, earning the right to resume new unit growth
◦ Deliver financial guidance commitments
The Red Robin vision is to be the most loved restaurant brand in the communities we serve.
Restaurant Concept
With our menu of Gourmet Burgers and American favorites, creative beverage menu, over 30 bottomless items, energetic atmosphere, and playful environment that connects families of all kinds, our brand not only carries great memories for our most loyal Guests but also appeals to a broad demographic. Our Guests enjoy the playful spirit of our experience and the comfort they feel with friends and family across a diverse and multi-generational demographic.
We pride ourselves on our Gourmet Burgers and other mainstream favorites served in a casual, playful atmosphere. Our menu features our signature product, a line of Gourmet Burgers with layers of fresh ingredients and premium quality, fresh ground beef. We also offer burgers made with other proteins including chicken breasts (grilled or fried), turkey patties, as well as a proprietary vegetarian patty and the Impossible™ plant-based burger patty. We offer a selection of buns, including gluten free, sesame, brioche, and lettuce wraps, with a variety of toppings, including house-made sauces, crispy onion straws, sautéed mushrooms, several cheese choices, and a sunny-side up egg. All of our burgers are served with a choice from eight bottomless sides including steak fries, broccoli, garlic fries and more. We specialize in customizing our menu items to meet our Guests' dietary needs and preferences and have received recognition from experts in the allergen community. In addition to burgers, which accounted for 56% of food sales in fiscal 2024, Red Robin serves an array of other mainstream favorites that appeal to our Guests. These items include a variety of foods like Donatos ® pizza (available at select locations), wings, salads, other entrees, and desserts. We also offer a range of single-serve and shareable desserts as well as our handspun milkshakes. Our beverages include signature alcoholic and non-alcoholic specialty drinks, cocktails, wine, and a variety of domestic, imported and craft beers.
We strive to customize the pace of the experience for our Guests based on their occasion, from accommodating time-pressured meals to offering a place to relax and connect with family and friends. We call this the “gift of time.” Red Robin also has an extraordinary approach to Guest service, and we have cataloged thousands of stories of Red Robin Team Members who live our values. Many examples can be found on our website, www.redrobin.com . Note that 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.
We also strive to provide our Guests with exceptional dining value and the ability to customize their experience. In fiscal 2024, we had an average check per Guest of $17.81. Average check per Guest increased 4.6% compared to fiscal 2023. We believe our price-to-value relationship, featuring our innovative array of quality burgers, "instaworthy" burgers and beverages, and over 30 bottomless items, differentiates us from our casual dining competitors and allows us to appeal to a broad base of middle income, multi-generational consumers.
Corporate Responsibility
Red Robin is a company that cares; we strive to impact Guests, Team Members, communities, and our planet for the better. In fiscal 2024, we published our third sustainability report and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (the "SASB") Restaurant Industry disclosures, which is available on our website at ir.redrobin.com. The contents of the sustainability report, our SASB Restaurant Industry disclosures and our website are not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K. We review our corporate responsibilities, at the stakeholder, Board, and management level and incorporate corporate responsibility initiatives into our strategic planning.
Human Capital Management
We strive to ensure our people, who we refer to as Team Members, demonstrate and benefit from our core values: Integrity, Fun, Unbridled Hospitality, and High Performance. We believe that when we exemplify these values, we win together!
Winning together is our core objective. We nurture this by providing our Team Members with a clear understanding of what is expected, and our goal is that people love working for our brand. We strive to provide our people with a great place to
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work, opportunities for growth, and competitive compensation for their contributions. Our values empower and motivate our Team Members and create a Company culture that we collectively take pride in every day. We also provide our Team Members the opportunity to grow and develop, promote health and safety, and value inclusion, belonging, and engagement.
As part of our human capital management strategy, we focus on the following areas:
Our Team Members
As of December 29, 2024, we had 21,443 Team Members, consisting of 21,196 Team Members at Company-owned restaurants and 247 Restaurant Support Center Team Members.
Competitive Compensation and Benefits
We support our Team Members by offering market-competitive compensation and benefits for eligible Team Members. Tip eligible Team Members are paid at least the tip credit rate or minimum wage rate as mandated by federal, state, or local government agencies, in addition to receiving customer tips. We design tipped positions to make more than the federal, state, or local minimum wage when including tips. Our current benefit programs include medical, dental, and vision insurance offerings, an employee assistance program, shift meals, Red Robin meal discounts, paid time off, 401(k) with employer match, and an employee stock purchase plan. Additionally, we offer incentive bonuses tied to restaurant and company level results, as well as equity-based awards for eligible Team Members.
Our compensation programs are designed to compensate our Team Members fairly for their level of experience and overall contribution to our business. We leverage our rewards to motivate our Team Members to do what is necessary in our mission to deliver a best-in-class Guest experience. For our operations leaders, beginning in fiscal 2024, we utilize a performance-based compensation program. Our individual restaurant managers and multi-restaurant operators are referred to as "Managing Partners" and "Market Partners," respectively (and collectively, "Partners"). Under this compensation program, Partners earn a base salary plus a performance bonus, which is linked to their respective restaurant or market operating profit. Additionally, Market Partners are eligible to receive equity-based awards. We believe providing each Partner with a direct and uncapped financial incentive attracts and retains the best talent in the industry and incentivizes each Partner to take action to drive growth in the restaurant or market they manage. We also believe this program rewards our Partners for making the right day-to-day decisions to satisfy our Guests, lead our Team Members, and meet our financial objectives.
Health and Safety
We operate with the health, safety, and well-being of Red Robin Team Members, Guests, and communities in mind. We have strict health and safety standards in place that meet or exceed local, state, and federal requirements, and timely review and act on data and trends from regulatory, internal, third party, or vendor inspections. We continue to innovate our products and processes to reduce our environmental impact, improve safety, and create a healthy work environment.
Inclusion and Belonging
At Red Robin, we value everyone for who they are. We are committed to combining the key ingredients of diverse identities, perspectives, and experiences to create our own special seasoning of Unbridled Hospitality. By respecting and supporting our Team Members, our Guests, and our communities, we all win together. We have a successful Women's Excellence program, a Company-wide resource group to support and inspire Team Members through development, networking, leadership, and other resources while fueling a culture of opportunity and diversity. In 2022, we established an Inclusion and Belonging Committee to develop a mission and vision for inclusion and belonging from a Team Member’s point of view. In 2023, we established a Steering Council made up of senior leaders of the organization to establish an overarching long-term strategy and plan for our Company. The Inclusion and Belonging Committee meets routinely to spotlight and celebrate the diverse experiences of our Team Members, to share these across the Company and to assess opportunities for the Company to improve its efforts to create a best-in-class work environment that thrives on inclusion and diversity of thought.
Restaurant Management
Our typical restaurant management team consists of a Managing Partner, an Assistant General Manager, and a Kitchen Manager. Depending on restaurant sales volume and other factors, we may also utilize Service Managers, Associate Managers, and/or Shift Supervisors. The restaurant management team is responsible for the day-to-day operations, operating results, and other matters including hiring, training, and staffing. Our typical restaurant employs 40 to 70 Team Members, most of whom work part-time on an hourly basis. We believe that a full complement of restaurant managers rationalized for restaurant sales volume and other factors is important to successful restaurant operations.
We expect our restaurant management teams to provide leadership at the restaurant as if the management team was the “owner” of the restaurant including localized decision-making with support of multi-unit field operations leaders when appropriate. For example, we expect restaurant management teams to engage in meaningful activities at the local level.
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The compensation plan for restaurant management teams is currently linked to restaurant-level operating profit in the form of a monthly bonus. Our expectation is this variable compensation approach will help to drive meaningful results in traffic, sales, and profitability consistent with the Company's financial plans.
Learning and Development
We strive to maintain quality and consistency in each of our restaurants through the training and development of Team Members and the establishment of, and adherence to, high standards relating to Team Member performance, Guest satisfaction, food and beverage preparation, and the appearance of our restaurants. Our training programs are anchored in a blended learning design, combining digital content with on-the-job training supported by a restaurant team of Certified Learning Coaches under the leadership of a Head Learning Coach and the restaurant's Managing Partner. This approach, culminating in a final skills certification, sets our new Team Members up for immediate success as they start their Red Robin career. Team Members seeking advancement have the opportunity to further their career as a Shift Supervisor through our Management training program. We continue to focus on hiring, training, and retaining our Team Members as we believe this is key to maintaining quality and consistency in each of our restaurants.
New restaurant managers participate in our eight-week Management Foundations training program. This program hones each manager's skills, specifically in two areas: flawless shift execution and effective coaching of Team Members.
These learning and development practices at the restaurants support our talent pipeline to develop and promote our restaurant management Team Members from within.
Team Member Engagement
We regularly collect feedback to better understand and improve Team Member experience and identify opportunities to strengthen our culture. We welcome open, candid feedback to promote Team Members feeling heard and engaged and to better support the experience of our Team Members. We accomplish this through a variety of programs and forums, including Team Member engagement surveys, one-on-one coaching, Town Hall meetings, leadership conferences, and onboarding and exit interviews. In addition to these structured programs and forums, we maintain an open-door policy at all levels of the Company.
In fiscal 2023, we launched a new Team Member engagement survey to all field Team Members. In fiscal 2024 we gathered additional field Team Member feedback and extended the engagement survey tool to our Restaurant Support Center Team Members. We utilize the surveys to gather insights from our Team Member population and create action plans from this data to continue to enhance our workplace. We also offer the use of this survey tool to gain feedback when key events occur, so we can quickly respond to suggestions and concerns when they arise. We believe this tool provides us with key insights into what Team Members need from the Company, assisting with retention and contributing to our positive workplace culture.
Food Safety and Purchasing
Our food safety and quality assurance programs help manage our commitment to safe, quality ingredients and responsible food preparation and service. Our Food Safety Management Program is a set of systems designed to protect from risk and control hazards. We provide detailed specifications for our proprietary food ingredients, products, and supplies to our suppliers. We qualify and require outside third party certification audits on an annual basis for all of our food and beverage suppliers (excluding alcoholic beverages, which are held to different auditing standards), as well as growers. The certifications must comply with the Global Food Safety Initiative, if applicable. Our restaurant leaders must pass and maintain an accredited manager-level food safety and sanitation certification. We maintain strict food safety protocols, including safe cooking temperature requirements, food handling procedures, cooling procedures, and frequent temperature and quality checks, for the safety and quality of the food we serve in our restaurants. In order to provide fresh ingredients and products and to maximize operating 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 deliveries to confirm that the products received meet our safety and quality specifications. Additionally, we engage an independent auditing company to perform unannounced comprehensive food safety and sanitation assessments at least three times a year in all Company-owned and franchised restaurants. If an assessment identifies any gaps, a documented plan is created to address it. A similar follow-up requirement is in place for government regulatory inspections.
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To enhance our purchasing efficiencies and obtain competitive prices for our high-quality ingredients, products, and supplies, our centralized purchasing team negotiates supply agreements that may include fixed price contracts that can vary in term or formula-based pricing agreements that can fluctuate on changes in raw material commodity pricing. Of our total cost of goods in fiscal 2024, ground beef represented approximately 15%, potatoes represented approximately 13%, and poultry represented approximately 10%. We monitor the market for the primary commodities we purchase and extend contract positions when applicable in order to minimize the impact of fluctuations in price and availability. As tactics to manage the risk of volatile cost increases and available product supply, we enter into fixed-price purchase commitments for certain commodities; however, it may not be possible for us to do so from time to time or at all with respect to certain commodities, or we may choose not to enter into fixed-price contracts for certain commodities. We believe that substantially all of our food and supplies meeting our specifications are available from alternate sources, which we have identified to diversify our supply chain. As of December 29, 2024, approximately 42% of our estimated annual food and beverage purchases were covered by fixed price contracts, most of which are scheduled to expire at various times through the end of fiscal 2025.
Restaurant Development, Remodels, and Donatos ®
We have prioritized investments to maintain our restaurants and technology infrastructure. We plan to evaluate a restaurant refresh and remodel program to inform our design criteria, investment level and pace of refreshes and remodels going forward. We are not currently pursuing new restaurant development but may in the future as our efforts under the North Star Plan progress.
In 2020, we announced our partnership with Donatos ® , a high-quality pizza brand "nested" inside of Red Robin restaurants. Through this partnership, our restaurants prepare and serve Donatos ® branded pizzas to our dine-in and off-premises Guests. Pursuant to a licensing arrangement, we pay royalties on sales of Donatos ® pizza products to Donatos ® . As of December 29, 2024, we have introduced Donatos ® pizzas to 269 restaurants.
Restaurant Franchise and Licensing Arrangements
As of December 29, 2024, our franchisees operated 91 restaurants in 13 states and British Columbia, Canada. Our two largest franchisees own 42 restaurants located in Eastern and Central Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio.
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 standards, 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. 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 Systems and Digital Technology
We leverage information systems and digital technology to deliver seamless Guest experience and empower our operations team to fulfill our brand commitments. In our restaurants, these technologies are designed to facilitate operational efficiency and support the Guest experience. These technologies include (but are not limited to) food waste and labor management systems, sales and forecasting tools, inventory management, and operational execution technologies. These technologies are integrated with our point-of-sale system to provide daily, weekly, and period-to-date reporting that is important for our Operators to run an efficient and high-performing restaurant. We also engage with our Guests through various digital platforms, such as our website, mobile apps, loyalty program, online ordering, and Guest feedback surveys.
We utilize centralized financial, accounting, and human resource management systems to support our Restaurant Support Center and Company-owned restaurants. In addition, we use an Operations dashboard that integrates data from our centralized systems and distributes information to assist in managing the performance of our restaurants. We believe these combined tools are important in analyzing and improving our operations, profit margins, and monitoring other key business metrics.
In fiscal 2024, we began infrastructure modernization efforts to improve performance, stability, and security of current technology solutions. We also launched a new loyalty program, transitioning to a points-based system that allows Guests to earn a reward faster and enjoy new perks and member exclusives.
Red Robin accepts electronic payment cards from Guests and collects personal information from both Guests and Team Members. We maintain a robust system of data protection and cybersecurity resources, technology and processes to keep Company, Guest and Team Member data secure. We monitor risks of sensitive information compromise at our business partners where relevant and reevaluate these risks on a periodic basis. We also perform annual and ongoing cybersecurity awareness training for our restaurant management and support center Team Members. In addition, our systems undergo annual
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assessment to ensure certain levels of system security and procedures are in place to protect our Guests' credit card and other personal information in accordance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) guidelines.
We engage external security assessors and consultants 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
Our marketing strategy is designed to foster awareness, elevate brand equity, encourage consideration, and ultimately drive increases in Guest traffic and sales. Our approach encompasses a blend of highly targeted and efficient paid, owned, and earned media channels, including paid search, programmatic digital, social media, creators, reputation management, search engine optimization, social community management, loyalty programs, personalized email marketing, local restaurant marketing, public relations, and investor relations. Our digital footprint extends across platforms such as RedRobin.com, our mobile application, and a dedicated catering site.
Funding for these initiatives is primarily derived from cooperative creative development efforts and national marketing funds. Beginning in 2023, we initiated a strategic realignment, optimizing the allocation of resources across paid and earned media, and local marketing endeavors. This realignment emphasizes personalized Guest engagement within the communities we serve, with a focused objective to enhance the dine-in experience. In fiscal 2024, we completed an extensive consumer research initiative, coupled with a segmentation study, to deepen our understanding of today's Guests. This research informed our growth targets, reinforced the distinctive essence of our brand, and guides our commitment to delivering on our promise to Guests. Additionally, we utilize Guest satisfaction tools in our restaurants and gather feedback to identify areas for improvement, enhance restaurant performance and track progress. Continuous performance monitoring relative to industry peers, coupled with testing potential business drivers among current and potential Guests, promotes our adaptability and responsiveness to market dynamics.
Leveraging our expansive Red Robin Royalty TM database, comprising approximately 14.9 million members, and our new Customer Data Platform (CDP), we gain valuable insights into Guest behavior, frequency, and purchase patterns and are able to deliver targeted offers to drive engagement. Our brand creative and messaging celebrate the shared values and playful spirit of both our Guests and our brand, seamlessly extending across craveable food, distinctive positioning, dine-in experience, and emotional connections with Guests.
Central to our vision for future growth is a layered strategic approach that prioritizes increased engagement and visitation of our current Guests via the personalization and benefits of our loyalty program, as well as new Guest acquisition demonstrating the breadth and quality of our gourmet burgers and everyday value we provide across owned, earned, paid and local restaurant marketing efforts. We firmly believe that this holistic approach positions us for growth in the dynamic landscape of our industry.
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Executive Officers
The following table sets forth information about our current executive officers:
Name Age Position
G. J. Hart 67 President, Chief Executive Officer, and Member of the Board of Directors
Todd Wilson 47 Chief Financial Officer
Sarah Mussetter 46 Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
Meghan Spuler 44 Chief People Officer
G.J. Hart. Mr. Hart joined Red Robin as President and Chief Executive Officer in September 2022. He has served as a director of the Company since August 2019. Mr. Hart previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Torchy’s Tacos from 2018 until 2021. Prior to that, he served as the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of California Pizza Kitchen from 2011 to 2018. From 2000 to 2011, Mr. Hart served as President of Texas Roadhouse Holdings, LLC and as Chief Executive Officer and member of the board from 2004 to 2011. Mr. Hart also held leadership positions at Al Copeland Investments, TriFoods International, New Zealand Lamb Company, and Shenandoah Valley Poultry earlier in his career.
Todd Wilson. Mr. Wilson joined Red Robin as Chief Financial Officer in November 2022. Mr. Wilson previously served as Chief Financial Officer at Hopdoddy Burger Bar and Hibar Hospitality from 2018 until 2022. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Finance for Jamba Juice from 2016 until 2018. From 2011 to 2016, Mr. Wilson served as Division CFO and Vice President of Finance at Bloomin’ Brands.
Sarah Mussetter. Ms. Mussetter joined Red Robin as Chief Legal Officer and Secretary in December 2022. She previously held the roles of Associate General Counsel and Vice President, Deputy General Counsel for the Company from 2011 to 2021. Prior to joining the Company Ms. Mussetter worked for the law firm of Holme Roberts & Owen LLP (now Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP). Most recently, Ms. Mussetter was SVP Deputy General Counsel for Skillsoft Corp from September 2021 to December 2022.
Meghan Spuler. Ms. Spuler joined Red Robin as Chief People Officer in December 2023. Prior to joining the Company, she served as Chief People Officer of Eckerd Connects from 2021 to 2023. From 2016 to 2021, Ms. Spuler served as Director of Human Resources, Senior Director of Human Resources, and Vice President of Human Resources for Bloomin' Brands.
Competition
The restaurant industry is highly competitive, and our Guests may choose to purchase food at supermarkets or other food retailers. Although, for some occasions, we compete against other segments of the restaurant industry, including quick-service and fast-casual restaurants, our primary competition is with other sit-down, casual dining restaurants within the full-service dining segment. In addition, we compete to attract Guests for off-premises dining occasions, including online ordering, delivery, to-go, and catering. 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 and related Guest value, Guest service, ambiance, location, and overall dining experience.
We believe our Guest demographics, strong brand recognition, Gourmet Burger concept, family friendly atmosphere, attractive price-value relationship, and the quality of our food and service differentiate us from our casual dining competitors. Our competitors include well-established national chains that have more substantial marketing resources. We also compete with many other restaurant and retail establishments for Team Members.
Seasonality
Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations. Sales in most of our restaurants have historically been higher during the spring and summer months and winter holiday season. The timing of holidays and school vacations, as well as severe storms, extended periods of inclement weather, or climate extremes may affect the seasonal operating results in the areas impacted. As a result, our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly as a result of seasonality, and seasonality of sales may shift over time. 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.
Intellectual Property
We have a number of registered trademarks and service marks, including the Red Robin®, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers®, "YUMMM®", Red Robin Gourmet Burgers + Brews®, and Red Robin Royalty® and logos. We have registered these marks, among others, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and we have registered various trademarks in certain other international jurisdictions. Pursuant to our licensing arrangement with Donatos®, we license the right to use the Donatos® trademark.
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In order to better protect our brand, we have also registered the Internet domain name www.redrobin.com. We believe 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
We are subject to laws and regulations affecting the operation of our business and industry, including preparation and sale of food and beverages, product safety, nutritional content, and menu labeling. Each of our restaurants is subject to various laws and regulations, including by state, and local health, safety, fire, and other authorities. For example, our restaurants are subject to licensing requirements, building and zoning regulations, regulations for the sale of alcoholic beverages and food, and public health related indoor capacity restrictions. We obtain and maintain necessary licenses, permits, and approvals to run our business.
We are subject to various labor and employment laws and regulations that govern our relationship with our Team Members and can significantly impact our operating costs. These laws govern minimum wage requirements, overtime pay, tip credits, paid leave, meal and rest breaks, unemployment tax rates, health care and other benefits, workers' compensation rates, work authorization, discriminatory conduct, and union organizing rights and activities.
We are also subject to laws and regulations relating to privacy and data protection, including the collection or use of personal information about Guests or our Team Members, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act.
We are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act and similar laws that require the Company to provide civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities in the context of employment, public accommodations, and other areas.
We are subject to federal and state laws and regulations, including those of the Federal Trade Commission that govern the offer and sale of franchises and substantive aspects of the franchisor-franchisee relationship.
Available Information
We use our investor relations website, ir.redrobin.com, as a channel of distribution of Company information. The information we post through this channel may be deemed material. Accordingly, investors should monitor this channel, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, conference calls, webcasts, and other investor events. Investors and others can receive notifications of new information posted on our investor relations website by signing up for email alerts. We make available through this investor relations website, 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. All SEC filings are also available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. 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 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. 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," "future," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "will," "would," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements may relate to, among other things: (i) our business objectives and strategic plans, including projected or anticipated growth, including in Guest traffic and revenue, growth strategies, planned improvements in operational efficiencies, gross margins, and expense management and enhancements to our restaurant environments and Guest engagement, including the anticipated impacts of innovations, improvements, marketing and branding strategies, and our loyalty program; (ii) our expectations about pricing strategy and average check size; (iii) our expectations of the competitiveness of the labor market and our ability to hire, train, and retain Team Members, as well as the success of our Managing Partner and Market Partner compensation program; (iv) anticipated capital investments and the results of such investments, including the evaluation of our restaurant refresh and remodel program, and our digital ecosystem, information technology systems, our restaurant development program, and the anticipated related benefits, as well as anticipated changes to our restaurant portfolio; (v) our expectations about restaurant operating costs, including commodity and food prices and labor and energy costs; (vi) anticipated legislation and other regulation of our business; (vii) anticipated continued investments in our partnership with Donatos®; (viii) our expectations about anticipated uses of, and risks associated with future cash flows, liquidity, future capital expenditures and other capital deployment opportunities, and taxes; (ix) our expectations regarding competition; and (x) our expectations regarding demand, consumer preferences, and consumer discretionary spending; (xi) our expectations regarding the implementation and anticipated benefits of our corporate responsibility initiatives; (xii) our ability to successfully implement our food safety
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programs, (xiii) our ability to successfully implement our health and safety initiatives; (xiv) the seasonality of our business; (xv) our ability to successfully implement, and our expectations regarding, our North Star five-point plan to enhance the Company’s competitive positioning; (xvi) our expectations and other statements regarding interest rates, commodity prices and other factors; and (xvii) the risks discussed under Risk Factors below.
Although we believe 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. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include those described under “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with other cautionary statements included in this and other reports we file with the SEC.
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.
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