Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. Announces Second Quarter Earnings per Share of $0.58 and Quarterly Net Earnings Growth of 16.4%

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD), announced today financial results for the second quarter ended June 26, 2011. Highlights for the second quarter versus the same period a year ago were:

• Total revenue increased 26.4% to $184.1 million
• Company-owned restaurant sales grew 27.6% to $167.9 million
• Same-store sales increased 5.9% at company-owned restaurants and 2.7% at franchised restaurants
• Net earnings increased 16.4% to $10.7 million from $9.2 million, and earnings per diluted share increased 16.0% to $0.58 from $0.50

Sally Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The appeal of our brand is evident in the strong same-store sales we saw in the second quarter, with an increase of 5.9% at company-owned locations and 2.7% at franchised locations. Our same-store sales, combined with our unit growth, fueled the substantial increase in revenue of 26.4%. In May, we celebrated the opening of our first international location near Toronto. We’re entering numerous major markets this year, and we increased our presence across the United States with 18 additional locations in the second quarter. To ensure that we successfully launch our brand in these new markets we incurred year-over-year increases in preopening costs and general and administrative expenses. Net earnings grew by over 16% in the second quarter, providing value to our shareholders with earnings per diluted share of $0.58, even with these investments in our future.”

Total revenue increased 26.4% to $184.1 million in the second quarter compared to $145.7 million in the second quarter of 2010. Company-owned restaurant sales for the quarter increased 27.6% over the same period in 2010, to $167.9 million, driven by a company-owned same-store sales increase of 5.9% and 43 additional company-owned restaurants at the end of second quarter 2011 relative to the same period in 2010. Franchise royalties and fees increased 14.4% to $16.2 million versus $14.2 million in the second quarter of 2010. This increase is attributed to a franchise same-store sales increase of 2.7% and 45 additional franchised restaurants at the end of the period versus a year ago.

Average weekly sales for company-owned restaurants were $47,970 for the second quarter of 2011 compared to $43,021 for the same quarter last year, an 11.5% increase. Franchised restaurants averaged $50,995 for the period versus $49,051 in the second quarter a year ago, a 4.0% increase.

For the second quarter, net earnings increased 16.4% to $10.7 million versus $9.2 million in the second quarter of 2010. Earnings per diluted share were $0.58, as compared to second quarter 2010 earnings per diluted share of $0.50.

2011 Outlook

Ms. Smith remarked, "Same-store sales remain impressive with an increase of 4.9% at company-owned and 3.0% at franchised locations to date in the third quarter. We join with our Guests in anticipation of the upcoming football season and Tablegating™ at Buffalo Wild Wings. Our restaurant teams are gearing up to deliver the great game day experience we’re known for. We’ll have an increased media presence throughout the third and fourth quarters and we have marketing and operations plans in place to engage our passionate Buffalo Wild Wings fans.”

Ms. Smith concluded, "We’re investing in our unit growth, particularly as we enter new markets. In the second half of 2011, we expect to open 29 company-owned restaurants in the United States and three in Canada and our franchisees should open about 37 locations, attaining our 13% unit growth goal for the year. Our net earnings growth for the first half of 2011 is over 29%, exceeding our stated annual goal of over 18% growth. With the strength of our bottom-line performance to date, the NFL season intact, and continuing same-store sales momentum, we should achieve net earnings growth of more than 20% for the year.”

Buffalo Wild Wings will be hosting a conference call today, July 26, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time to discuss these results. There will be a simultaneous webcast conducted at our website www.buffalowildwings.com.

A replay of the call will be available until August 2, 2011. To access this replay, please dial 1.858.384.5517 password 4454245.

About the Company

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc., founded in 1982 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a growing owner, operator and franchisor of Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar^™ restaurants featuring a variety of boldly-flavored, made-to-order menu items including its namesake Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings. The Buffalo Wild Wings’ menu specializes in 18 mouth-watering signature sauces and seasonings with flavor sensations ranging from Sweet BBQ^™ to Blazin’^®. Guests enjoy a welcoming neighborhood atmosphere that includes an extensive multi-media system for watching their favorite sporting events. Buffalo Wild Wings is the recipient of hundreds of "Best Wings" and "Best Sports Bar" awards from across the country. There are currently 773 Buffalo Wild Wings locations across 45 states in the United States, as well as in Canada.

Forward-looking Statements

Various remarks we make about future expectations, plans, and prospects for the company constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the Safe Harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to our future financial and store performance measures and growth goals for 2011 and beyond, including but not limited to those relating to our second quarter sales trends and projected unit, revenue and net earnings growth rates for 2011 and beyond. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements and are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology, including "anticipates,” "believes,” "can,” "continue,” "could,” "estimates,” "expects,” "intends,” "may,” "plans,” "potential,” "predicts,” "should” or "will” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Actual results may vary materially from those contained in forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to achieve and manage our planned expansion, the ability of our franchisees to open and manage new restaurants, market acceptance in the new geographic regions we enter (particularly non-U.S. locations), unforeseen obstacles in developing nontraditional sites or non-U.S. locations, our ability to obtain and maintain licenses and permits necessary to operate our existing and new restaurants, our franchisees’ adherence to our practices, policies and procedures, the cost of commodities such as traditional chicken wings, the success of our key initiatives and our advertising and marketing campaigns, our ability to control restaurant labor and other restaurant operating costs, the continued service of key management personnel, our ability to protect our name and logo and other proprietary information, economic conditions (including changes in consumer preferences or consumer discretionary spending), the impact of federal, state or local government regulations relating to our employees, the sale of food and alcoholic beverages, disruption to sports seasons, the effect of competition in the restaurant industry, and other factors disclosed from time to time in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the factors described under "Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 26, 2010, as updated in subsequent reports filed with the SEC. Investors should take such risks into account when making investment decisions. Shareholders and other readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

⁽¹⁾ Includes stock-based compensation of $3,399, $1,313, $5,952, and $2,538, respectively

The following table expresses results of operations as a percentage of total revenue for the periods presented, except for restaurant operating costs which are expressed as a percentage of restaurant sales: