Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Policies)	9 Months Ended
Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Policies)	May 01, 2020
Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements [Abstract]
COVID-19 Impact	COVID-19 Impact In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) to be a pandemic. In an effort to contain and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, federal, state and local governmental authorities have imposed unprecedented restrictions on travel, group gatherings and non-essential activities, such as “social distancing” guidance, shelter-in-place orders and limitations on or full prohibitions of dine-in services. In response to the business disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has taken the following actions. Operating Initiatives In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the orders and guidance from U.S. federal and applicable state and local governmental authorities, in March 2020, the Company temporarily closed the dining rooms in all of its restaurants and operated with pick-up or delivery only. As part of the Company’s efforts to support an off-premise-only business model, the Company implemented various changes to its Cracker Barrel offerings, including a limited menu and multi-serving takeout Family Meal Baskets, the expansion of third-party delivery services and the implementation of various operating model changes, including contactless curbside delivery. As of the end of March 2020, all of the Company’s restaurant operations were limited to pick-up and delivery only with no dine-in service. In late April 2020, certain state and municipal authorities began to remove or modify existing restrictions on dine-in restaurant operations in certain jurisdictions, and the Company has been able to resume dine-in services at a limited number of its restaurants; however, the Company’s dine-in services have been and continue to be limited to occupancy levels well below capacity, and some are yet to open at all for dine-in service. The Company is taking a cautious approach to reopening dining rooms and is instituting operational protocols to comply with applicable regulatory requirements and to monitor developing health authority recommendations in order to protect the health and foster the confidence of employees and guests in these communities. The adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the Company testing its restaurant long-lived assets for recoverability. As a result of this analysis, the Company recorded impairment charges of $18,336 due to the expected deterioration in operating performance of certain Cracker Barrel stores. Expense Reductions The Company has made significant reductions in operating expenses to reflect reduced operations and sales levels as well as eliminating non-essential spending where feasible. The Company furloughed employees and eliminated a significant number of positions at all levels of the Company, both at the corporate headquarters and in the field. Severance expenses of $3,122 related to the elimination of 450 positions were recorded in the third quarter of 2020. The Company also implemented pay reductions for the remainder of the fiscal year for corporate officers and reduced cash retainers payable to the Company’s Board of Directors. Additionally, the Company has adapted its labor model, instituted inventory management measures and negotiated revised terms with landlords and vendors. Liquidity Initiatives As a precautionary measure and in order to increase the Company’s cash position and provide financial flexibility given the uncertainty in the market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company borrowed $415,000 under the Company’s 2019 Revolving Credit Facility (as defined herein), leaving approximately $3,271 in borrowing availability. To further preserve available cash, the payment of the dividend that was declared on March 3, 2020 was deferred until September 2, 2020 and the Company has suspended all further dividend payments until further notice. The Company has also temporarily suspended all future share repurchases under its previously announced $25,000 share repurchase program. In keeping with the Company’s strategy of concentrating its resources on its core business during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has decided not to invest further resources or otherwise provide additional funding to PBS HoldCo, LLC (see Note 3, “Equity Investment” for further information regarding the Company’s strategic relationship with PBS HoldCo, LLC). The Company continues to explore additional measures to enhance liquidity as the COVID-19 pandemic and related events develop. Additionally, on March 27, 2020, P.L. 116-136, the Coronavirus Aid, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act, among other things, contains several provisions offering liquidity to businesses. The Company has benefited and will continue to benefit from two of these provisions, including recovering a portion of qualifying retention pay and health expenses paid to furloughed employees, and deferring a portion of employment taxes until calendar 2021 and calendar 2022.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements Adopted Leases In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued accounting guidance which requires the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements. The Company adopted this accounting guidance as of August 3, 2019, using the modified retrospective approach. Under this approach, existing leases were recorded at the adoption date rather than the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented. This approach allows for a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption, and prior periods are not restated. The Company elected the transition package of practical expedients permitted under this guidance, which among other things, allows the carryforward of historical lease classifications. The Company elected to not separate lease and non-lease components for all classes of leased assets. Additionally, the Company elected to apply the short-term lease exemption to all asset classes. The Company chose not to elect the hindsight practical expedient. Adoption of the accounting guidance for leases resulted in the recognition of right-of-use operating lease assets of $464,394 and total operating lease liabilities of $506,406 as of August 3, 2019. At adoption, the lease liabilities were measured based upon the present value of remaining rental payments for existing operating leases primarily related to real estate leases. The right-of-use assets were offset primarily by straight-line lease liabilities that existed at the adoption date. The cumulative-effect of applying the accounting guidance for leases resulted in an adjustment to retained earnings of $4,125 at August 3, 2019, related to the elimination of the deferred gains on the Company’s sale-leaseback transactions from 2000 and 2009. See Note 11 for additional information regarding leases. Accounting for Hedging Activities In August 2017, the FASB issued accounting guidance which amends the recognition, presentation and disclosure requirements of hedge accounting in order to better portray the economics of entities’ risk management activities, increase transparency and understandability of hedging relationships and simplify the application of hedge accounting. The adoption of this accounting guidance in the first quarter of 2020 did not have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations, and the Company did not record a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings. The amended presentation and disclosure requirements were applied on a prospective basis. Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted P.L. 115-97, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). In February 2018, the FASB issued accounting guidance which allows a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Act. This accounting guidance was effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2020. The Company did not elect this reclassification option. As a result, this accounting guidance had no impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations. Share-Based Payment Arrangements With Nonemployees In June 2018, the FASB issued accounting guidance in order to simplify the accounting for share-based payments granted to nonemployees for goods and services. This new guidance aligns most of the accounting requirements for share-based payments granted to nonemployees with the existing guidance for share-based payments granted to employees. The adoption of this accounting guidance in the first quarter of 2020 had no impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations. Rate Reform In March 2020, the FASB issued optional accounting guidance in order to ease the potential burden in accounting for contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions that reference London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform. The expedients and exceptions provided by this accounting guidance do not apply to contract modifications made and hedging relationships entered into or evaluated after December 31, 2022, except for hedging relationships existing as of December 31, 2022 if certain criteria are met. The Company has certain contracts and hedging relationships which reference LIBOR for which the Company has elected to use the optional accounting guidance. The Company elected to apply this accounting guidance for contract modifications prospectively as of February 1, 2020. Additionally, the Company elected to apply this accounting guidance to eligible hedging relationships existing as of February 1, 2020 and to any new hedging relationships entered into during the effective period of the accounting guidance. The adoption of this accounting guidance in the third quarter of 2020 had no impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations. Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Adopted Goodwill Impairment In January 2017, the FASB issued accounting guidance related to the subsequent measurement of goodwill. Under this new guidance, an entity will perform its annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount and recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. This guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. This guidance should be applied on a prospective basis. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this accounting guidance in the first quarter of 2021. Accounting for Income Taxes In December 2019, the FASB issued accounting guidance in order to simplify the accounting for income taxes. This new guidance eliminates certain exceptions related to the approach for intraperiod tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. This guidance also simplifies aspects of the accounting for franchise taxes and enacted changes in tax laws or rates and clarifies the accounting for transactions that result in a step-up in the tax basis of goodwill. This accounting guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. In general, entities will apply the new guidance on a prospective basis, except for certain items such as the guidance on franchise taxes that are partially based on income. The guidance on franchise taxes that are partially based on income will be applied either retrospectively for all periods presented or using a modified retrospective approach through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this accounting guidance in the first quarter of 2022.