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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

or

Commission file number 0-25721

BUCA, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

1300 Nicollet Mall, Suite 5003

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

(612) 288-2382

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

None

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

common stock, par value $.01 per share.

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

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K 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.  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2).  Yes  x  No  ¨

The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 27, 2003 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was $89,883,236 based on the closing sale price for BUCA, Inc.’s common stock on that date. Shares of common stock held by each officer and director have been excluded from this computation in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This number is provided only for the purpose of this report on Form 10-K and does not represent an admission by either the registrant or any such person as to the status of such person.

As of March 8, 2004 the registrant had 20,120,437 shares of common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for the annual meeting of shareholders to be held on May 4, 2004 are incorporated by reference in Part III.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These forward-looking statements have been made pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections, and our beliefs and assumptions. We intend words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “will” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and are difficult to predict. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in the risk factors and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect our management’s view only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We are not obligated to update these statements or publicly release the result of any revisions to them to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

PART I

Overview

BUCA, Inc. owns and operates 105 full service restaurants under the names Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston. Our Buca di Beppo restaurants offer high quality, immigrant Southern Italian cuisine served in small and large family-style portions meant for sharing in a fun and energetic atmosphere that parodies the decor and ambiance of post-War Italian/American restaurants. In prior years, our Buca di Beppo restaurants have been dinner only. In 2003, we began to serve lunch seven days per week at certain Buca di Beppo restaurants. Currently, 11 Buca di Beppo restaurants serve lunch. We expect to have approximately 25% of our Buca di Beppo restaurants serve lunch within the next 12 months.

Our Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants are based upon re-creations of the high quality neighborhood Italian eateries prominent in the neighborhoods of lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, north-end Boston and South Philadelphia in the 1940s. The menu includes both individual and family-sized portions.

We design each of our restaurants to be a fun, high-energy destination. Each Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston restaurant in a market is unique, which reinforces our image as a collection of neighborhood restaurants. Our food, decor and family-style servings all promote a fun, celebratory and socially interactive dining experience that emulates a traditional Italian/American meal. We have pursued a rapid, but disciplined expansion strategy. In fiscal 2004, we have slowed down our restaurant development plans until we have developed appropriate strategies to improve our comparable restaurant sales. Our objective is to become the favorite Italian restaurant concept in each of our markets.

The majority of our revenues are generated from the sale of food and beverages. In fiscal 2002, we introduced our first Buca di Beppo cookbook, entitled “Into the Sauce, From our Cucina to Your Kitchen.” Cookbook sales were included in our revenues for fiscal 2002 and 2003.

Our Menu

We believe that the authenticity, quality and consistency of our food are the most important components of our long-term success. In contrast to the levity of our decor and ambiance, we take menu development and food preparation very seriously. Each of our Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston menus is based on authentic family recipes enjoyed for generations in the villages of Southern Italy and then adapted to American ingredients. We make regular trips to Italy and Sicily to find new recipes for our menus that are then extensively tested and refined before introduction in our restaurants.

Some of Buca di Beppo restaurant’s most popular menu items include Garlic Bread with Mozzarella, Buca di Beppo 1893 Salad, Pizza Arrabiatta, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Spaghetti with half-pound Meat Balls, Tortelloni, Chicken Marsala, Veal Parmigiana and Tiramisu. We also offer a Baked Specialties menu that includes Baked Ravioli, Cannelloni, Manicotti and Stuffed Shells. These high quality food items are served in small and large family-style portions. In family-style serving, each item is shared by the entire table, which encourages guests to interact and enjoy the meal together.

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We also offer Daily Specials centered on a genre of Southern Italian cooking called “cucina di povera,” which translates as “kitchen of the poor.” We believe that our Daily Specials play a vital role in keeping the menu fresh and allow us to test prospective menu items. Our foods, often seasoned with garlic and served with vine-ripened tomatoes, communicate the pure, powerful flavors of the immigrant Southern Italian kitchen.

In an effort to attract smaller parties and allow our guests to try a wider variety of our menu items, we introduced smaller portions sizes for a majority of entrees on our menu. We expect our Buca Small initiative to be implemented in all of our Buca di Beppo restaurants by April 2004.

Vinny T’s of Boston’s menu features a variety of appetizers, soups and salads, pastas, meats, seafood, parmigianas, pizzas, chicken and veal, and desserts. Menu items include Fried Mozzarella, Warm Tomato Salad, Homemade Lasagna, Grilled Pork Chops with Peppers, Linguini with Clam Sauce, Veal Parmigiana, Pepperoni Pizza, Chicken Piccata, and Cannoli. The menu features individual and family style portions.

All of our menu items can be enjoyed either in the restaurant or as take-out. In fiscal 2003, take-out sales represented approximately 7% of our total sales. We believe that take-out represents a continued opportunity to build our sales. However, we expect that as our take-out sales increase, our alcohol sales will likely decrease as a percentage of total sales as off site sales of liquor are generally not allowed at our restaurants.

Our menu pricing is consistent within a market, but may differ slightly market-to-market. The average check per Buca di Beppo guest in fiscal 2003 was approximately $21.00 (including beverages). In fiscal 2003, alcoholic beverages, primarily table wine, accounted for approximately 20% of sales at our Buca di Beppo restaurants.

At Vinny T’s of Boston, our average check was approximately $19.50 (including beverages). In fiscal 2003, alcoholic beverages, accounted for approximately 18% of restaurant sales at our Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants.

Operations

Restaurant Management. Our ability to effectively manage restaurants in a diverse geographic area will continue to be critical to our overall success. We currently have nine Divisional Vice Presidents of Operations overseeing our Buca di Beppo restaurant and one Vice President of Operations for our Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants. Each Divisional Vice President or Vice President of Operations is expected to effectively manage up to 14 restaurants. Our Divisional Vice Presidents or Vice President of Operations supervise each Paisano Partner within his or her territory with the goal of achieving an expected return on investment through the successful implementation and operation of our Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston concepts. Our Buca di Beppo Divisional Vice Presidents report directly to a Senior Vice President of Operations. Our Vinny T’s of Boston Vice President of Operations reports to our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. As we continue to grow and expand geographically, we expect to add additional Divisional Vice Presidents.

The typical Buca di Beppo restaurant management team consists of a Paisano Partner, a Kitchen Manager, an Assistant General Manager and an Assistant Kitchen Manager. The typical Vinny T’s of Boston restaurant consists of a Paisano Partner, a Kitchen Manager, two Assistant Kitchen Managers, and two Assistant General Managers.

A majority of the managers at Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants participate in the Paisano Partner Program. Under the Paisano Partner Program, the restaurant management team receives a percentage of its restaurant’s cash flow before fixed occupancy costs such as rent, common area maintenance and property taxes. The Paisano Partner also receives stock options and is required to purchase $20,000 of Buca, Inc. stock at the time of employment in the position. Kitchen Managers also receive stock options in Buca, Inc. Each member of our restaurant management team is cross-trained in all operational areas.

Hours of Restaurant Operation. The majority of our Buca di Beppo restaurants are open seven days a week, typically opening at 5 p.m. during the week and noon on the weekends and closing at 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends. Currently, 11 of our Buca di Beppo restaurants are open seven days a week starting at 11:30 a.m. Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants are open for lunch and dinner seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.

Recruiting and Training

We actively recruit and select individuals who share our passion for guest service. Testing and multiple interviews are used to aid in the selection of new employees at all levels. We have developed a competitive compensation plan for restaurant management that includes a base salary, competitive benefits package, including a 401(k) plan, and participation in a management incentive plan that rewards the restaurant management team for achieving performance objectives. All of our employees are entitled to

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discounted meals at our restaurants. It is our policy to promote from within, but we recognize the need to supplement this policy with outside recruiting at this stage of our growth and as new markets are opened.

We provide all new employees with extensive training to ensure they are provided with the tools to excel in their position. This training encompasses classroom instruction, on-the-job training programs for each position and testing of the new employee’s progress at pre-determined stages within the training schedule. Each new member of the restaurant management team participates in a six-week training program. All management employees receive kitchen training. All Buca di Beppo field management employees typically complete a minimum of one week of training at BUCA University (BUCA U). BUCA U is a training program held at our headquarters in Minneapolis. This program combines hands-on training conducted in the five restaurants in the Minneapolis market with classroom instruction led by management of each of the various corporate office departments. In addition to the formal training programs, we maintain detailed operating procedure manuals, standards, controls, food line management systems and a food culture book to complement the training received at all levels.

Marketing

Our marketing strategy is to communicate the BUCA, Inc., Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston brands through both traditional and non-traditional avenues. We focus our efforts on getting people in the local community, particularly civic, business and media leaders, to talk about the Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston experience. We expect to invest approximately 3% to 4% of our restaurant sales on marketing efforts in the future. We have run and expect to continue to run radio, print, direct mailers or billboard advertising in a majority of our mature markets. We have retained several new advertising agencies to assist us with our marketing efforts.

In connection with new restaurant openings, we contract with local public relations firms to assist us in establishing and sustaining the Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston brands. By organizing events such as pre-opening parties and concierge dinners, these firms focus primarily on introducing Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants to opinion leaders, such as civic and media personalities, and to hospitality industry leaders such as key hotel staff, meeting planners and convention and visitors bureau representatives.

We also sustain restaurant awareness through unpaid media exposure and word-of-mouth advertising, including grassroots neighborhood marketing efforts, primarily driven by the Paisano Partner. Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants have achieved particular success by delivering a sample of menu items to drive-time radio personalities and morning television hosts, earning free media exposure, and often invitations for scheduled return engagements, while developing relationships with high-profile media personalities.

To reinforce our image as a collection of unique neighborhood restaurants, each Paisano Partner works diligently to establish a community presence. Through ongoing neighborhood marketing efforts, supported by our marketing department, each Paisano Partner establishes relationships with area businesses and residents, participates in high-profile events and festivals and takes advantage of opportunities to introduce area residents and workers to the restaurant. Because of their credibility as local business owners and community members, Paisano Partners play an integral role in establishing our restaurants in the neighborhood.

Purchasing

We strive to obtain high quality menu ingredients and other supplies and services for our operations from reliable sources at competitive prices. To this end, we continually research and evaluate various ingredients and products in an effort to maintain the highest quality and to be responsive to changing consumer tastes. Our centralized purchasing staff, under the direction of our Senior Vice President of Food & Beverage and Purchasing, specifies the products to be used at our restaurants and designates the vendors and provides suppliers with detailed ingredient specifications. To maximize purchasing efficiencies and to provide for the freshest ingredients for our menu items, each restaurant’s management team determines the quantity of food and supplies required. To obtain the lowest possible prices for the required high quality and consistent raw ingredients, each restaurant orders items primarily from our national food distributor, SYSCO Corporation, on terms negotiated by our centralized purchasing staff. We believe that all essential food and beverage products are available from several qualified suppliers at competitive prices should an alternative source be required.

New Restaurant Site Selection and Development

Our restaurants will continue to represent the majority of our growth in the near term and our expansion strategy will focus on existing markets in which we operate. We anticipate over the next several years that the majority of our new restaurants will be in existing markets. Opening restaurants in existing markets enables us to increase our operational, marketing and recruiting efficiencies.

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Our site selection process is critical to our success and we devote substantial effort to evaluating each potential site. Our real estate advisory committee, which consists of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice Presidents of Operations for the area involved, and two of our non-employee directors, reviews each location. The selection process includes identifying target markets that meet our demographic requirements and targeted minimum return on assets. Our leases are typically 10 years in length with four five-year option periods. We also look to receive tenant allowance from our landlords to offset our development costs. In the past, we have purchased land as we found suitable locations. In the future, we may refinance any purchases of land or buildings through sale-leaseback transactions. We cannot predict whether this financing will be available when needed or on terms acceptable to us.

We are flexible in the types of locations that we can develop a restaurant. We have locations in both urban and suburban locations, including regional shopping malls, in-line shopping centers, retail and entertainment centers, office buildings and freestanding buildings in commercial and residential neighborhoods. Our prototype location is approximately 8,500 to 10,000 square feet. Each new Buca di Beppo or Vinny T’s of Boston leased restaurant is expected to require, on average, a total cash investment of approximately $1.5 million, excluding pre-opening costs expected to be approximately $185,000 for a Buca di Beppo and $200,000 for a Vinny T’s of Boston restaurant. Our prototype designs, which include the cost of the building, are expected to be approximately $2.0 million in total cash investment per restaurant.

Information Technology

We utilize a centralized network to collect information, maintain technical controls and support all our restaurants. A call center located at our home office answers the telephone during the day for 94 Buca di Beppo restaurants. All of our restaurants use personal computer systems integrated with management systems to monitor restaurant sales, product costs and labor costs on a daily basis. Financial controls are maintained through a centralized accounting system, which includes a sophisticated theoretical food cost program and a labor scheduling and tracking program. Physical inventories of food and beverage items are taken on a weekly basis. Daily, weekly and monthly financial information is provided to management for analysis and comparison to our budget and to historical information. We closely monitor restaurant sales, cost of sales, labor and other restaurant trends on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

Employees

As of December 28, 2003, we had approximately 6,600 employees, of which 133 served in administrative or executive capacities, 473 served as restaurant management personnel and the remainder were hourly restaurant personnel.

None of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements and we have never experienced an organized work stoppage or strike. We believe that our working conditions and compensation packages are competitive and consider relations with our employees to be very good.

Intellectual Property

We have registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office the service marks “BUCA,” “BEPPO,” “BUCA DI BEPPO,” “BUCA DI BEPPO” (stylized), ”BUCA DI BEPPO” & design, “VINNY T’S OF BOSTON” & design, “VINNY T’S OF BOSTON,” “VINNY T’S OF BOSTON BAR RISTORANTE” & design, Mama BUCA I design, Mama BUCA II design, Pouring Chianti Bottle design, Cherubs and Bowl design, Curtain design, Smoking Cherub design and People Toasting With Wine design. In addition, we have trademark registrations for “BUCA” and “BUCA DI BEPPO” in the following countries: Benelux, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. We also have pending trademark applications for “BUCA” and “BUCA DI BEPPO” in Canada, the European Union, the Federation Of Russia, and Finland. We believe that our trademarks, service marks, trade dress and other proprietary rights have significant value and are important to the marketing of our restaurant concepts. We have in the past protected our proprietary rights and expect to continue to vigorously protect those rights in the future. We cannot predict, however, whether steps taken by us to protect our proprietary rights will be adequate to prevent misappropriation and/or infringement of these rights or the use by others of restaurant features based upon, or otherwise similar to, our overall concepts. It may be difficult for us to prevent others from copying discrete elements of our concepts and any litigation to enforce our rights will likely be costly. In addition, other local restaurant operations may claim that our name is confusingly similar to their names and may try to prevent us from using our marks in those locales.

Our History

The Buca di Beppo concept was created in Minneapolis in 1993 and originally operated by a company owned by Philip A. Roberts, Don W. Hays and Peter J. Mihajlov. On December 31, 1994, Parasole Restaurant Holdings, Inc., a diversified restaurant company operating in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, acquired this company. Messrs. Roberts and Mihajlov are the principle shareholders of Parasole Restaurant Holdings, Inc. From January 1995 through September 1996, BUCA, Inc. operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Parasole Restaurant Holdings, Inc. In June 1996, Joseph P. Micatrotto joined BUCA, Inc. as our President and Chief Executive Officer. On September 30, 1996, BUCA, Inc. was spun-off from Parasole Restaurant Holdings,

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Inc. through a share dividend of our common stock pro rata among the Parasole Restaurant Holdings, Inc. shareholders to create a better vehicle for obtaining financing for our expansion plans. In January 2002, BUCA, Inc. purchased the assets of the nine Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants, formerly known as Vinny Testa’s Italian-American restaurant. The Vinny T’s of Boston concept was established in Boston in 1993.

Competition

The restaurant industry is intensely competitive. We compete on the basis of taste, quality, price of food offered, guest service, location, ambiance and overall dining experience. We have many well-established competitors, both nationally and locally owned Italian and non-Italian concepts, with substantially greater financial resources and a longer history of operations than we do. Their resources and market presence may provide advantages in marketing, purchasing and negotiating leases. We compete with other restaurant and retail establishments for sites and finding management personnel. Changes in consumer tastes, economic conditions, demographic trends and the location and number of, and type of food served by, competing restaurants could adversely affect our business, as could the unavailability of experienced management and hourly employees.

Government Regulations

Our restaurants are subject to regulation by federal agencies and to licensing and regulation by state and local health, sanitation, building, zoning, safety, fire and other departments relating to the development and operation of restaurants. These regulations include matters relating to environmental, building, construction and zoning requirements and the preparation and sale of food and alcoholic beverages. Our facilities are licensed and subject to regulation under state and local fire, health and safety codes.

Each of our restaurants is required to obtain a license to sell alcoholic beverages on the premises from a state authority and, in certain locations, county and/or municipal authorities. Typically, licenses must be renewed annually and may be revoked or suspended for cause at any time. Alcoholic beverage control regulations relate to numerous aspects of the daily operations of each of our restaurants including: minimum age of patrons and employees; hours of operation; advertising; wholesale purchasing; inventory control and handling; and storage and dispensing of alcoholic beverages. The failure to receive or retain a liquor license in a particular location could adversely affect that restaurant and our ability to obtain such a license elsewhere.

We are subject to “dram-shop” statutes in the states in which our restaurants are located. These statutes generally provide a person injured by an intoxicated person the right to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated individual. We carry liquor liability coverage as part of our existing comprehensive general liability insurance, which we believe is consistent with coverage carried by other entities in the restaurant industry. Although we are covered by insurance, a judgement against us under a dram-shop statute in excess of our liability coverage could have a material adverse effect on us.

Our operations are also subject to federal and state laws governing such matters as wages, working conditions, citizenship requirements and overtime. Some states have set minimum wage requirements higher than the federal level. Significant numbers of hourly personnel at our restaurants are paid at rates related to the federal minimum wage and, accordingly, increases in the minimum wage will increase labor costs. We are also subject to the Americans With Disability Act of 1990, which, among other things, may require certain renovations to our restaurants to meet federally mandated requirements. The cost of any such renovations is not expected to materially affect us.

Available Information

Our Internet website is: http://www.bucainc.com. We have made available, free of charge, through our Internet website, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such materials with, or furnish them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Risk Factors

Competition May Adversely Affect Our Operations and Financial Results

The restaurant business is highly competitive with respect to price, service, restaurant location and food quality, and is often affected by changes in consumer tastes, economic conditions, population, and traffic patterns. We compete within each market with locally owned restaurants as well as national and regional restaurant chains, some of which operate more restaurants and have greater financial resources and longer operating histories than we do. There is active competition for management personnel and for attractive commercial real estate sites suitable for restaurants. If we are unable to effectively compete within the

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restaurant industry, our operations and financial results could be adversely affected. See “Item 1. Competition” for a discussion of the competition we face.

We May Be Unable to Return to Profitability or Raise Additional Capital

We intend to expend significant financial and management resources on the development of additional restaurants. We cannot predict whether we will be able to achieve revenue growth, generate positive cash flow or return to profitability in the future. Our current credit facility limits our ability to build new restaurants, which has contributed to our decision to slow down our future development plans and develop a revised plan to improve our comparable restaurant sales. Failure to achieve these objectives may cause our stock price to decline and make it difficult to raise additional capital.

We May Be Unable to Reverse the Trend of Negative Comparable Restaurant Sales Results

If we are unable to reverse the decline in negative comparable restaurant sales, we may incur asset impairment charges for restaurants that have operating losses and/or negative cash flows and we may close those restaurants, which may result in significant exit costs, including lease termination costs.

Our Business Could Be Materially Adversely Affected if We Are Unable to Expand in a Timely and Profitable Manner

To continue to grow, we must open new Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants on a timely and profitable basis. We have experienced delays in restaurant openings from time to time and may experience delays in the future. Delays or failures in opening new restaurants could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows. We expanded from 11 restaurants at the end of fiscal 1997 to 105 restaurants at the end of fiscal 2003. We acquired nine Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants in January 2002. We expect to open a total of four restaurants (three Buca di Beppo restaurants and one Vinny T’s of Boston) during fiscal 2004. Our ability to expand successfully will depend on a number of factors, some of which are not entirely within our control, including the:

In addition, we contemplate entering new markets in which we have no operating experience. These new markets may have different demographic characteristics, competitive conditions, consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns than our existing markets, which may cause our new restaurants to be less successful in these new markets than in our existing markets. Furthermore, a sustained history of significant operating losses at a restaurant could result in a charge for impairment of assets. See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for a discussion of the asset impairment criteria and Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements for discussion of the asset impairment charges that we have taken in fiscal 2001, 2002 and 2003.

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We May Not Be Able to Achieve and Manage Planned Expansion

We face many business risks associated with growing companies, including the risk that our existing management, information systems and financial controls will be inadequate to support our planned expansion. We cannot predict whether we will be able to respond on a timely basis to all of the changing demands that our planned expansion will impose on management and these systems and controls. If we fail to continue to improve management, information systems and financial controls or encounter unexpected difficulties during expansion, our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

Furthermore, we may seek to acquire other operations. To do so successfully, we would need to identify suitable acquisition candidates, obtain financing on acceptable terms and negotiate acceptable acquisition terms. Even if we are successful in completing acquisitions, they may have a material adverse effect on our operating results, particularly in the fiscal quarters immediately following the completion of an acquisition, while the acquisition is being integrated into our operations.

Fluctuations in Our Operating Results May Result in Decreases in Our Stock Price

Our operating results will fluctuate significantly because of several factors, including increases or decreases in comparable restaurant sales; the timing of new restaurant openings and related expenses; profitability of new restaurants; general economic conditions; seasonality of restaurant sales; consumer confidence in the economy; changes in consumer preferences; impairment of restaurant assets; changes in interest rates; competitive factors and weather conditions. As a result, our operating results may fall below the expectations of public market analysts and investors. In that event, the price of our common stock would likely decrease. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for a discussion of our historical operating results.

Inflation Could Materially Adversely Affect Our Operating Results

The majority of our operating expenses have increased due to inflation. We have tried to offset these increases in operating expenses by increasing menu prices or by implementing other cost-reduction procedures that has limited the overall impact from inflation. Because we are in a competitive industry, we may be limited in the amount of menu prices we can increase. If we are unable to offset increases in operating expenses due to inflation, it could materially adversely affect or business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows.

Increased Energy Costs and Power Outages May Adversely Affect Our Profitability

Our success depends in part on our ability to absorb increases in utility costs. Various regions of the United States in which we operate multiple restaurants, particularly California, have experienced significant and temporary increases in utility prices. We have in the past closed restaurants on a temporary basis due to the inability to receive electrical power. If these increases should recur, it may adversely affect our profitability.

Increased Food Costs Could Materially Adversely Affect Our Operating Results

Our profitability also depends in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in food costs. We rely on SYSCO Corporation, a national food distributor, as the primary distributor of our food. Although we believe that alternative distribution sources are available, any increase in distribution prices or failure to perform by SYSCO could cause our food costs to increase. Further, various factors beyond our control, including adverse weather conditions and governmental regulation, may affect our food costs. We cannot predict whether we will be able to anticipate and react to changing food costs by adjusting our purchasing practices and menu prices, and a failure to do so could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows.

Changes in Consumer Preferences or Discretionary Consumer Spending Could Negatively Impact Our Results

Our restaurants feature Italian cuisine served primarily in small and large family-style portions. Our continued success depends, in part, upon the popularity of this type of Italian cuisine and this style of informal dining. Shifts in consumer preferences away from our cuisine or dining style could materially adversely affect our future profitability. Also, our success depends to a significant extent on numerous factors affecting discretionary consumer spending, including economic conditions, disposable consumer income and consumer confidence. Adverse changes in these factors could reduce guest traffic or impose practical limits on pricing, either of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows.

We Could Face Potential Labor Shortages

Our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees, including restaurant managers, kitchen staff and wait staff, necessary to keep pace with our expansion schedule. Qualified individuals

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needed to fill these positions are in short supply in certain areas, and the inability to recruit and retain such individuals may delay the planned openings of new restaurants or result in high employee turnover in existing restaurants, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows. Additionally, competition for qualified employees could require us to pay higher wages to attract sufficient employees, which could result in higher labor costs.

Our Operations Depend on Governmental Licenses and Complying with Government Regulations

Each of our restaurants is subject to licensing and regulation by alcoholic beverage control, health, sanitation, safety and fire agencies in the state, county and/or municipality in which the restaurant is located. There can be no assurance that we will not experience difficulties or failures in obtaining the required licenses or approvals. If we fail to hold all necessary licenses, we may be forced to delay or cancel new restaurant openings and close or reduce operations at existing locations.

We also are subject to federal and state environmental regulations and adverse changes in these regulations could have a material negative effect on our operations. For example, more stringent and varied requirements of local and state governmental bodies with respect to zoning, land use and environmental factors could delay or prevent development of new restaurants in particular locations.

We are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which governs such matters as minimum wages, overtime and other working conditions, along with the Americans With Disabilities Act, various family leave mandates and a variety of other laws enacted, or rules and regulations promulgated, by federal, state and local governmental authorities that govern these and other employment matters. A material increase in the minimum wage and other statutory benefits could adversely affect our operating results and profitability.

We May Face Liability Under Dram Shop Statutes

Our sale of alcoholic beverages subjects us to “dram shop” statutes in most states. These statutes allow an injured person to recover damages from an establishment that served alcoholic beverages to an intoxicated person. If we receive a judgment substantially in excess of our insurance coverage, or if we fail to maintain our insurance coverage, our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows could be materially and adversely affected. See “Item 1. Business—Government Regulation” for a discussion of the regulations we must comply with.

Complaints or Litigation and the Related Adverse Publicity From Guests May Materially Adversely Affect Us

We are from time to time the subject of complaints or litigation from guests alleging illness, injury or other food quality, health or operational concerns. These claims may divert our financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit the future performance of our operations.

Multi-unit restaurant businesses can also be adversely affected by publicity resulting from poor food quality, food-born illness or other health concerns or operating issues stemming from one or a limited number of restaurants. In particular, since we depend heavily on the brands Buca di Beppo and Vinny T’s of Boston for all of our revenues, unfavorable publicity relating to one or more Buca di Beppo or Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We May be Unable to Fund Our Significant Future Capital Needs and We May Need Additional Funding Sooner Than Anticipated

We may need substantial capital to finance our expansion plans, which require funds for capital expenditures, pre-opening costs and potential initial operating losses related to new restaurant openings. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms. If adequate funds are not available, we will have to curtail projected growth, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows. Moreover, if we issue additional equity securities, the holdings of existing shareholders may be diluted.

Although we expect that borrowings under our credit facility, combined with other resources will be sufficient to fund our capital requirements at least through fiscal 2005, this may not be the case. Our credit facility limits our capital expenditures in future years, including a maximum of $13 million in fiscal 2004. We may be required to seek additional capital earlier than anticipated if:

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See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” for a discussion of our historical and anticipated capital needs.

We May Suffer from Uninsured Losses that Could Have a Material Adverse Effect on Our Business

We have comprehensive insurance, including general liability, fire, extended coverage and employee practices liability coverage. However, there are certain types of losses that may be uninsurable or that we believe are not economically insurable, such as earthquakes, other natural disasters, and terrorist attacks. In view of the location of many of our existing and planned restaurants in California and other earthquake prone areas of the United States, our operations are susceptible to damage and disruption caused by earthquakes. In the event of an earthquake or other natural disaster affecting one or more geographic areas of our operations, we could suffer a loss of the capital invested in, as well as anticipated earnings from, the damaged or destroyed properties.

The terrorist attacks on the United States had a significant impact on the portion of our business that is celebratory in nature and adversely affected our restaurant sales and profitability. With the threats of additional terrorists attacks and continuing uncertainty created by the war on terrorism, there could be a potential downturn in the economy and a decrease in consumer spending. These factors, as well as the effects of adverse publicity to our business could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We lease the land and building at 51 of our Buca di Beppo restaurant locations and all 10 of our Vinny T’s of Boston restaurant locations. Of our remaining restaurant locations, we lease the land and own the building at 34 restaurant locations and own the land and building at 10 locations. Current restaurant leases have expiration dates ranging from 2004 to 2023, excluding options to renew for additional periods of time.

We currently own and operate 95 Buca di Beppo restaurants and 10 Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants located in 43 markets in 30 states and the District of Columbia.

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We maintain our executive offices at 1300 Nicollet Mall, Suite 5003, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55403. Subject to normal expansion, we believe that our facilities are adequate to meet our present needs and reasonably foreseeable needs.

From time to time, we are a defendant in litigation arising in the ordinary course of our business, including claims resulting from “slip and fall” accidents, claims under federal and state laws governing access to public accommodations, employment-related claims and claims from guests alleging illness, injury or other food quality, health or operational concerns. To date, none of this litigation, some of which is covered by insurance, has had a material effect on us. We are aware of a complaint filed by two of our former employees in California in March 2004 alleging that we have violated certain wage and labor codes. We believe that these allegations are without merit and intend to defend the company rigorously.

None.

Our executive officers are as follows:

None of the above executive officers is related to each other or to any of our other directors.

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Joseph P. Micatrotto joined BUCA, Inc. in 1996 as President, Chief Executive Officer and as a director. In July 1999, he became the Chairman of the Board. Mr. Micatrotto’s 30-year career in restaurant management includes tenure as CEO of Panda Management Company, Inc., where he led the company’s expansion, and as President and CEO of Chi-Chi’s Mexican Restaurante, Inc., where he was instrumental in its national growth. Mr. Micatrotto is active on various boards and industry groups including the National Restaurant Association.

Greg A. Gadel has been our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since 1997, our Secretary since 1998 and our Executive Vice President since 2001. Prior to joining BUCA, Inc., Mr. Gadel was CFO for the 32-unit restaurant chain, Leeann Chin. He also previously served as Vice President and Controller for the largest Chi-Chi’s Mexican Restaurante, Inc. franchisee, Consul Corporation. He has also worked for Marriott International, Inc., McDonald’s Corporation and the Deloitte & Touche LLP accounting firm. He has more than 21 years of experience in the restaurant industry. Mr. Gadel is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Stephen B. Hickey joined BUCA, Inc. in January 2004 as our Chief Marketing Officer. Mr. Hickey brings over 35 years of marketing and consulting experience to BUCA, Inc. Mr. Hickey has held senior marketing executive positions with several major quick-service and full-service restaurant chains. He launched his career at McDonald’s, where he served in several capacities including Staff Director of National Marketing. He also held Vice President of Marketing positions with Hardee’s Food Systems, Applebee’s, and Wendy’s International, Inc. Prior to joining BUCA, Inc., Mr. Hickey served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Creative Consumer Concepts, a kids and family marketing company serving the restaurant industry.

John J. Motschenbacher joined BUCA, Inc. as our Corporate Controller in 1998. He was promoted to Vice President of Finance and Purchasing in 1999, Senior Vice President of Information Technology in August 2003, and Chief Information Officer in March 2004. Mr. Motschenbacher oversees the information technology and guest services departments. His primary responsibilities are to manage the communication structure for the restaurants and corporate office. Previously, Mr. Motschenbacher was the Controller for Café Odyssey restaurant, Leann Chin Inc. and Bon Appetit Management Company. Mr. Motschenbacher has 16 years of experience in the restaurant industry.

Joseph J. Kohaut joined BUCA, Inc. in 1997 as a Divisional Vice President. Mr. Kohaut became Senior Vice President of Operations in 2001, Chief Operations Officer in 2002, and Senior Vice President of Food & Beverage and Purchasing in 2004. Mr. Kohaut has more than 25 years of restaurant industry experience, including management positions with Panda Management Company, Inc., Chi-Chi’s Mexican Restaurante, Inc. and the Ground Round, Inc. He is a member of the board of directors of the American Beverage Institute and Cheers Editorial Advisory Board.

PART II

Our common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol “BUCA.” As of March 2, 2004, there were approximately 599 record holders of our common stock. The following table sets forth for the quarters indicated the high and low sales prices of our common stock, as reported by the Nasdaq Stock Market.

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain all future earnings for the operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any payment of cash dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon our results of operations, earnings, capital requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board. In addition, our current credit facility prohibits us from paying any cash dividends for as long as any loan, unpaid reimbursement obligation or letter of credit is outstanding under the credit facility or any of our lenders has any obligation to make any loans or to issue, extend or renew any letter of credit under the credit facility.

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On February 26, 2004, we completed the sale in a private placement of 3,300,000 shares of newly issued common stock to institutional investors. The purchase price was $5.50 per share and resulted in gross proceeds of $18,150,000. The sales were made in reliance upon exemptions from registration provided under Section 4(2) and Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for transactions not involving a public offering. We intend to file a registration statement on Form S-3 in connection with the resale of such shares.

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

(in thousands, except share, per share and operating data)

The following selected consolidated statements of operations and balance sheet data for the five fiscal years ended December 28, 2003 are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements and their notes for each of the three fiscal years ended December 28, 2003, and the independent auditors’ report on those years, are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and their notes, “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.