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                                                                    Exhibit 31.1

                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Joseph P. Micatrotto, certify that:

       1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of BUCA, Inc.;

       2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
          statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
          necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
          under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
          the period covered by this report;

       3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
          information included in this report, fairly present in all material
          respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
          of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
          report;

       4. The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
          establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
          defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
          registrant and we have:

              a)     designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
                     such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed
                     under our supervision, to ensure that material information
                     relating to the registrant, including its consolidated
                     subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
                     entities, particularly during the period in which this
                     report is being prepared;

              b)     evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                     controls and procedures and presented in this report our
                     conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure
                     controls and procedures, as of the end of the period
                     covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

              c)     disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's
                     internal control over financial reporting (as defined in
                     Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) that occurred
                     during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the
                     registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual
                     report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably
                     likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal
                     control over financial reporting.

       5. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
          on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
          reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
          registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
          functions):

              a)     all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
                     design or operation of internal control over financial
                     reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect
                     the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and
                     report financial information; and

              b)     any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
                     management or other employees who have a significant role
                     in the registrant's internal control over financial
                     reporting.

Date: March 12, 2004

                                                   /s/ Joseph P. Micatrotto
                                                   -----------------------------
                                                   Joseph P. Micatrotto
                                                   Chairman, President and Chief
                                                   Executive Officer
                                                   (Principal Executive Officer)