Pre-opening costs.    Pre-opening costs, which are expensed as incurred, consist of the costs of hiring and training the initial work force, travel, the cost of food and beverages used in training, marketing costs and other direct costs related to the opening of a new restaurant.

Comparable restaurant sales.    In calculating company-owned comparable restaurant sales, restaurants become comparable in the first period following the first full fiscal year of operations. As of December 29, 2002, we had 70 company-owned restaurants that met this criteria.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We believe that the application of the following accounting policies, which are important to our financial position and results of operations, requires significant judgments and estimates on the part of management. For a summary of all of our accounting policies, including the accounting policies discussed below, see Note 1 of the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

Accounts significantly impacted by estimates and assumptions include, but are not limited to, franchise receivables, assets held for sale, fixed asset lives, goodwill, intangible assets, income taxes, self-insurance and workers’ compensation reserves and closed restaurant reserves.

We believe that the following represent our more critical accounting policies and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements, although not all-inclusive.

Valuation of long-lived assets

As of the beginning of 2002, we adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets. SFAS No. 144 superseded SFAS No. 121, Accounting for the Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and for Long-Lived Assets to Be Disposed of, and APB Opinion No. 30, Reporting the Results of Operations—Reporting the Effects of Disposal of a Segment of a Business, and Extraordinary, Unusual and Infrequently Occurring Events and Transactions. In accordance with SFAS No. 144, management assesses for impairment both those assets for which management has committed to a plan of disposal and long-lived assets to be held and used in continuing operations whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. We perform this assessment on a restaurant-by-restaurant basis and will recognize an impairment loss when we believe the sum of undiscounted expected future cash flows is less than the carrying amount of such assets. The measurement for such an impairment loss is then based on the fair value of the asset as determined by discounted cash flows or appraisals, if available.

Revenue recognition-franchise operations

We typically grant franchise rights to private operators for a term of 20 years, with the right to extend the term for an additional ten years if certain conditions are satisfied. We provide management expertise, training, pre-opening assistance and restaurant operating assistance in exchange for area development fees, franchise fees, license fees and royalties of 3.0% to 4.0% of the franchised restaurant’s adjusted sales. Under our current form of area development agreement, we collect a $10,000 development fee for each restaurant the franchisee agrees to develop at the time we enter into the area development agreement. When a franchisee opens a new restaurant, we collect an additional $25,000 fee and we credit the $10,000 previously collected and recognize a $35,000 franchise fee as income. We may charge lower development fees and franchise fees for existing franchisees. Franchise fee revenue is recognized when all material obligations of and initial services to be provided by us have been performed, generally upon the opening of the restaurant. Until earned, these fees are accounted for as deferred revenue, a liability. Area franchise fees are dependent upon the number of restaurants in the territory as are our obligations under the area franchise agreement. Consequently, as our obligations are met, area franchise fees are recognized proportionately with the opening of each new restaurant.

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