Description of the Securities

Exhibit 4.2

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES

EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended: our common stock.

In this Exhibit 4.2, when we refer to the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” or when we otherwise refer to ourselves, we mean BJ's Restaurants, Inc., excluding, unless otherwise expressly stated or the context requires, our subsidiaries; all references to “common stock” refer only to common stock issued by BJ's Restaurants, Inc. and not to any common stock issued by any subsidiary.

The general terms and provisions of our common stock are summarized below. This summary does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by express reference to, the provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws, each of which is filed as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10‑K of which this Exhibit 4.2 is a part. We encourage you to read our articles of incorporation and bylaws and the applicable provisions of the California General Corporation Law (“CGCL”) for additional information.

Authorized Shares

Under our articles of incorporation, we have the authority to issue up to 125,000,000 shares of common stock and up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock.  No preferred stock is currently outstanding.

Dividends

Subject to any preferential rights of any series of preferred stock, holders of shares of common stock are entitled to receive dividends on the stock out of assets legally available for distribution when, as and if authorized and declared by our board of directors (the “Board of Directors”). The payment of dividends on the common stock is a business decision to be made by our Board of Directors from time to time based upon results of our operations and our financial condition and any other factors as our Board of Directors considers relevant. Payment of dividends on the common stock may be restricted by loan agreements, indentures and other transactions entered into by us from time to time.

Voting Rights

The holders of shares of common stock are entitled to one vote for each share on all matters voted on by shareholders, and possess all voting power, except as otherwise required by law or provided in any resolution adopted by our Board of Directors with respect to any series of our preferred stock. Provided a quorum has been properly established in accordance with our bylaws, the holders of a plurality of shares of common stock voting for the election of our Directors can elect all of the Directors, if they choose to do so, subject to any rights of the holders of preferred stock to elect Directors. Shareholders are entitled to cumulate their votes in the election of directors (i.e., they are entitled to the number of votes determined by multiplying the number of shares held by them times the number of directors to be elected) and may cast all of their votes so determined for one person, or spread their votes among two or more persons as they see fit.

Our Board of Directors has adopted a majority voting policy which provides for majority voting for directors in uncontested elections. Under our majority voting policy, which is part of our Corporate Governance Guidelines, a director nominee must receive more “For” votes than “Withhold” votes. Abstentions will have no effect on the director election since only “For” and “Withhold” votes with respect to a nominee will be counted. Any incumbent director nominee who receives a greater number of “Withhold” votes than “For” votes with respect to his or her

election is required to tender his or her resignation within 15 days of the final vote. Our Board of Directors, within 90 days of receiving the certified voting results pertaining to the election, will decide whether to accept the resignation of any unsuccessful incumbent, or whether other action should be taken, through a process managed by the Governance and Nominating Committee.  

Subject to the rights of any outstanding series of preferred stock and except as otherwise required by law or pursuant to the listing standards of the exchange on which our securities are listed, in all matters other than the election of directors, a merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or an amendment of our bylaws or certain provisions of our articles of incorporation, the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of shares of common stock present in person or represented by proxy at a meeting of shareholders and entitled to vote on the subject matter is required for approval, provided a quorum is established.

Pursuant to the CGCL, the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of our outstanding capital stock entitled to vote on a merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets is required for approval of such events. An amendment of our bylaws (to the extent submitted to shareholders for approval) or an amendment of our Articles of Incorporation also requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of our outstanding capital stock entitled to vote.

Liquidation Rights

Subject to any preferential rights of any series of preferred stock, holders of shares of common stock are entitled to share ratably in our assets legally available for distribution to our shareholders in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up.

 Absence of Other Rights

Holders of common stock have no preferential, preemptive, conversion or exchange rights.

Certain Anti-takeover Effects

General.  Our articles of incorporation, our bylaws and the CGCL contain certain provisions that could (1) delay or make more difficult some transactions involving an actual or potential change of control of our company, (2) may limit the ability of shareholders to remove current directors or management or approve a transaction that a majority of our shareholders may deem to be in their best interests and, (3) could adversely affect the price of our securities. Set forth below is a description of the provisions contained in our articles of incorporation and bylaws and the CGCL that could impede or delay an acquisition of control of our company that our Board of Directors has not approved. This description is intended as a summary only and is qualified in its entirety by reference to our articles of incorporation and bylaws, as well as the CGCL.

Anti-Takeover Provisions.  Section 1203 of the CGCL includes provisions that may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying or preventing changes in control or management of our company. First, if an “interested person” makes an offer to purchase the shares of some or all of our shareholders, we must obtain an affirmative opinion in writing as to the fairness of the offering price prior to completing the transaction. California law considers a person to be an “interested person” if the person directly or indirectly controls our company, if the person is directly or indirectly controlled by one of our officers or directors, or if the person is an entity in which one of our officers or directors holds a material financial interest. If after receiving an offer from such an “interested person” we receive a subsequent offer from a neutral third party, then we must notify our shareholders of this offer and afford each of them the opportunity to withdraw their consent to the “interested person” offer.

Section 1203 and other provisions of California law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding voting stock, by discouraging a hostile bid, or delaying, preventing or deterring a

merger, acquisition or tender offer in which our shareholders could receive a premium for their shares, or effect a proxy contest for control of our company or other changes in our management.

Shareholder Action; Advance Notice Requirements for Shareholder Proposals and Director Nominations.  Our bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for shareholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of shareholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to the board of directors. Shareholders at an annual meeting may only consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the board of directors or by a shareholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has delivered timely written notice in proper form to our secretary of the shareholder’s intention to bring such business before the meeting. These provisions could have the effect of delaying until the next shareholder meeting shareholder actions that are favored by the holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities.

Shareholder Rights Plans.  Our Board of Directors has the authority to adopt a shareholder rights plan, rights agreement or any other form of distribution to shareholders which is designed to or has the effect of making an acquisition of large holdings of our shares of common stock more difficult or expensive.

Special Meetings. Under our bylaws special meetings of shareholders may only be called by our Board of Directors, the Chairman of our Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer, President or, solely to the extent required by our bylaws, by the Secretary of the Company at the written request in proper form of one or more shareholders holding shares in the aggregate entitled to cast not less than ten percent (10%) of the votes at that meeting.  

Board Vacancies. Any vacancy on the Board of Directors, howsoever resulting, may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office, even if less than a quorum. Any director elected to fill a vacancy shall hold office after the annual meeting at which his or her term is scheduled to end until his or her successor shall be elected and shall qualify, subject, however, to prior death, resignation, disqualification or removal from office.  Vacancies not filled by the Board may be filled by holders of a majority of the shares entitled to vote.

Additional Authorized Shares of Capital Stock.  Our Board of Directors is authorized without further shareholder approval (except as may be required by applicable law or the regulations promulgated on any exchange on which our securities are listed) to provide for the issuance of shares of preferred stock, in one or more series, and to fix for each such series such voting powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights, and such qualifications, limitations, or restrictions, as are stated in the resolution adopted by our Board of Directors providing for the issuance of such series and as are permitted by the CGCL. The additional shares of authorized common stock and preferred stock available for issuance under our articles of incorporation could be issued at such times, under such circumstances and with such terms and conditions as to impede a change in control.  

Limitations on Liability.  Our articles of incorporation and bylaws also provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the CGCL. The foregoing limitation on liability and indemnification may impede a change of control event to the extent that a hostile acquirer seeks to litigate its contest for control with our directors and officers.