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The purpose of this Insider Trading Policy (the “Policy”) is to promote compliance with applicable securities laws by Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) and its subsidiaries and all directors, officers and employees thereof (and members of the forgoing persons’ immediate families and households), in order to preserve the reputation and integrity of the Company, as well as that of all persons affiliated with it. Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Compliance Officer and General Counsel of the Company (the “Compliance Officer”).

It is the Company’s policy to comply with all applicable federal and state securities laws, including those relating to buying or selling securities in the Company (“Company Securities”). In the course of conducting the Company’s business, employees or representatives may become aware of material, nonpublic information regarding the Company, its subsidiaries and divisions, or other companies with which we do business (this so-called “material, nonpublic information” is defined in Section IV below). Employees or agents of the Company and members of their immediate families may not buy or sell Company Securities, or securities of any other publicly-held company, while in possession of material, nonpublic information obtained during the course of employment or other involvement with Company business, even if the decision to buy or sell is not based upon the material, nonpublic information.

In addition, entities such as trusts or foundations over which an employee has control, may not buy or sell securities while the employee is in possession of such material, nonpublic information. If you have material, nonpublic information, you may not disclose that information to others, even to family members or other employees, except for employees whose job responsibilities require the information.

The general policy stated above applies to all employees. In order to ensure compliance with the policy, the Board of Directors of the Company has adopted the following procedures, which apply to directors, officers and certain employees and representatives of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, as specified in Annex A (“Covered Persons”) and their Related Persons (as defined in Section IV.D. below). The Company has determined that these Covered Persons are likely to have access to material, nonpublic information by virtue of their position with the Company. These procedures apply regardless of the dollar amount of the trade or the source of the material, nonpublic information. Any questions regarding the applicability of this policy to a specific situation should be referred to the Company’s Compliance Officer.

officers, employees, independent contractors and those persons in a special relationship with the Company (e.g., its auditors, consultants or attorneys). The definition of an insider is transaction specific; that is, an individual is an insider with respect to each material, nonpublic item of which he or she is aware.

The materiality of a fact depends upon the circumstances. A fact is considered “material” if there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable investor would consider it important in making a decision to buy, sell or hold a security or where the fact is likely to have a significant effect on the market price of the security. Material information can be positive or negative and can relate to virtually any aspect of a company’s business or to any type of security, debt or equity. Some examples of material information include:

Information is “nonpublic” if it is not available to the general public. In order for information to be considered public, it must be widely disseminated in a manner making it generally available to investors through a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) or through such media as Dow Jones, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal or Associated Press. The circulation of rumors, even if accurate and reported in the media, does not constitute effective public dissemination. In addition, even after a public announcement of material information, a reasonable period of time must elapse in order for the market to react to the information. However, in accordance with SEC guidance, if the information becomes publicly available on EDGAR, no waiting time is necessary.

Unless available on EDGAR, generally, one should allow approximately two full trading days following publication as a reasonable waiting period before such information is deemed to be public. Therefore, if an announcement is made before the commencement of trading on a Monday, an employee may trade in Company Securities starting on Wednesday of that week, because two full trading days would have elapsed by then (all of Monday and Tuesday). If the announcement is made on Monday after trading begins, employees may not trade in Company Securities until Thursday. If the announcement is made on Friday after trading begins, employees may not trade in Company Securities until Wednesday of the following week. Note that this restriction is in addition to any other restrictions that apply under this policy, including the requirement that trades be pre-cleared (see Section V.C. below) and that they occur during specified trading windows (see Section V.G. below).

For purposes of this Policy, a “Related Person” includes (1) your spouse, minor children and anyone else living in your household, (2) partnerships in which you are a general partner, (3) corporations in which you either singly or together with other “Related Persons” own a controlling interest, (4) trusts of which you are a trustee, settlor or beneficiary, (5) estates of which you are an executor or beneficiary, or (6) any other group or entity where the insider has or shares with others the power to decide whether to buy Company Securities. Although a person’s parent, child or sibling may not be considered a Related Person (unless living in the same household), a parent or sibling may be a “tippee” for securities laws purposes. See Section V.D. below for a discussion on the prohibition on “tipping.”

Material, nonpublic information must not be disclosed to anyone, except the designated persons within the Company or certain third-party agents of the Company (such as investment banking advisors or outside legal counsel) whose positions require them to know it, until such information has been publicly released by the Company.

No Covered Persons or their Related Persons may place a purchase or sell order or recommend that another person place a purchase or sell order in Company Securities (including initial elections, changes in elections or reallocation of funds relating to 401(k) plan accounts, but excluding the exercise of options if such exercise does not involve the sale of any Company Securities) outside of a trading window (see Section V.G. below) or when he or she has knowledge of material information concerning the Company that has not been disclosed to the public. In addition, in some circumstances the Company’s directors and officers may be prohibited from trading in the Company Securities during any period when certain participants or beneficiaries of individual account plans (such as some pension fund plans) maintained by the Company are subject to a temporary trading suspension in Company Securities.

If securities transactions ever become the subject of scrutiny, they are likely to be viewed after-the-fact with the benefit of hindsight. Therefore, Covered Persons must obtain prior clearance from the Company’s Compliance Officer, or his or her designee, before he, she or any of his or her Related Persons makes any purchases or sales of Company Securities. An exercise of a stock option need not be pre-cleared if such exercise does not involve the sale of any Company Securities. Pre-clearance may be obtained by submitting the Pre-Trading Clearance and Certification Form attached hereto as Annex B or by any other means acceptable to the Compliance Officer. Each proposed transaction will be evaluated to determine if it raises insider trading concerns or other concerns under the federal or state securities laws and regulations. Any advice will relate solely to the restraints imposed by law and will not constitute advice regarding the investment aspects of any transaction. Clearance of a transaction is valid only for a 48-hour period, unless stated otherwise. If the transaction order is not placed within that 48-hour period or such other period approved by the Compliance Officer, clearance of the transaction must be re-requested. If clearance is denied, the fact of such denial must be kept confidential by the person requesting such clearance.

Insiders may be liable for communicating or tipping material, nonpublic information to any third party (“tippee”), not limited to just Related Persons. Further, insider trading violations are not limited to trading or tipping by insiders. Persons other than insiders also can be liable for insider trading, including tippees who trade on material, nonpublic information tipped to them and individuals who trade on material, nonpublic information which has been misappropriated. Tippees inherit an insider’s duties and are liable for trading on material, nonpublic information illegally tipped to them by an insider. Similarly, just as insiders are liable for the insider trading of their tippees, so are tippees who pass the information along to others who trade. In other words, a tippee’s liability for insider trading is no different from that of an insider. Tippees can obtain material, nonpublic information by receiving overt tips from others or through, among other things, conversations at social, business or other gatherings. Therefore, it is the Company’s policy that Covered Persons are required to keep completely and strictly confidential all nonpublic information relating to the Company.

Covered Persons and their Related Persons may not trade in options, warrants, puts and calls or similar instruments on Company Securities or sell Company Securities “short.” In addition, Covered Persons and their Related Persons may not hold Company Securities in margin accounts. Investing in Company Securities provides an opportunity to share in the future growth of the Company. Investment in the Company and sharing in the growth of the Company, however, does not mean short-range speculation based on fluctuations in the market. Such activities may put the personal gain of the Covered Person or Related Person in conflict with the best interests of the Company and its securityholders. Except as required to perform their job, Covered Persons and their Related Persons are also prohibited from discussing the Company, its business or its stock online or on social media.

No Covered Person or Related Person may place purchase or sell orders or recommend that another person place a purchase or sell order in the securities of another company if the person learns of material, nonpublic information about the other company in the course of his/her service to, or employment with, the Company.

In addition to being subject to all of the other limitations in this Policy, Covered Persons and their Related Persons may only buy or sell Company Securities in the public market during the period beginning two trading days after the release of the Company quarterly and year-end earnings announcement and continuing for fifteen trading days. This policy does not apply to the exercise of stock options if such exercise does not involve the sale of any Company Securities. In addition, you should remember that even if the window is otherwise open you cannot trade if you are in possession of material, nonpublic information, and you still must receive pre-clearance.

they should not engage in trading of Company securities (except as permitted under a Rule 10b5-1 plan as described below) and should not disclose to others the fact that the trading window has been closed. If the relationship of an individual with the Company should terminate while such a notice is in effect, the prohibition will continue to apply until the Compliance Officer gives notice that the ban has been lifted.

SEC Rule 10b5-1(c) provides a defense from insider trading liability if trades occur pursuant to a pre-arranged “trading plan” that meets specified conditions. Under this rule, if you enter into a binding contract, an instruction or a written plan that specifies the amount, price and date on which securities are to be purchased or sold, and if these arrangements are established at a time when you do not possess material, nonpublic information, you entered the contract, instruction or written plan in good faith, and purchases and sales under the contract, instruction or written plan do not start until the applicable cooling off period expires, then you may claim a defense to insider trading liability if the transactions under the trading plan occur at a time when you have subsequently learned of material, nonpublic information. Arrangements under the rule may specify the amount, price and date through a formula or may specify trading parameters which another person has discretion to administer, but you must not exercise any subsequent discretion affecting the transactions, and if your broker or any other person exercises discretion in implementing the trades, you must not influence his or her actions and he or she must not possess any material, nonpublic information at the time of the trades. Trading plans can be established for a single trade or a series of trades, subject to the limitations set forth in Rule 10b5-1. The Company prefers that your trading plan provide for trades quarterly during the window period.

It is important that you document the details of a trading plan properly. Please note that, in addition to the requirements of a trading plan described above, there are a number of additional procedural conditions to Rule 10b5-1(c) that must be satisfied before you can rely on a trading plan as an affirmative defense against an insider trading charge. These requirements include, among others, that you act in good faith, that you not modify your trading instructions while you possess material, nonpublic information and that you not enter into or alter a corresponding or hedging transaction or position. Because this rule is complex, the Company recommends that you work with a broker and the Compliance Officer and be sure you fully understand the limitations and conditions of the rule before you establish a trading plan.

All trading plans, including any amendment or modification of an existing trading plan, must be reviewed and approved by the Compliance Officer before they are implemented. The Compliance Officer maintains guidelines that all plans must meet in order to be considered for approval. These guidelines include the requirement that a plan, including any amendment or modification of an existing trading plan, only be entered into during a window period. In addition, you must notify the Compliance Officer before terminating any existing trading plan.

All Covered Persons must certify in writing that they have read and intend to comply with the procedures set forth in this Policy. See Annex C. Additionally, your broker-dealer will need to sign a Broker Instruction and Representation Letter in the event you establish a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. See Annex D for a sample of such letter.