Non-Operating Income and Expense (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Aug. 25, 2012	Aug. 27, 2011	Aug. 28, 2010
Component of Other Income (Expense), Nonoperating [Line Items]
Non-operating income	$ 581	$ 658	$ 222
Total COLI [Member]
Component of Other Income (Expense), Nonoperating [Line Items]
Non-operating income	1,007	1,032	780
COLI appreciation [Member]
Component of Other Income (Expense), Nonoperating [Line Items]
Non-operating income	2,788	3,045	3,308
COLI death benefits [Member]
Component of Other Income (Expense), Nonoperating [Line Items]
Non-operating income	528	372	0
COLI premiums [Member]
Component of Other Income (Expense), Nonoperating [Line Items]
Non-operating income	(514)	(564)	(571)
COLI interest expense [Member]
Component of Other Income (Expense), Nonoperating [Line Items]
Non-operating income	(1,795)	(1,821)	(1,957)
Total line of credit expense [Member]
Component of Other Income (Expense), Nonoperating [Line Items]
Non-operating income	(571)	(564)	(967)
Wells Fargo termination fee [Member]
Component of Other Income (Expense), Nonoperating [Line Items]
Non-operating income	0	0	(375)
Line of credit expenses (e.g. commitment fee, unused fee) [Member]
Component of Other Income (Expense), Nonoperating [Line Items]
Non-operating income	(571)	(564)	(592)
Interest income [Member]
Component of Other Income (Expense), Nonoperating [Line Items]
Non-operating income	143	194	420
Gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions [Member]
Component of Other Income (Expense), Nonoperating [Line Items]
Non-operating income	$ 2	$ (4)	$ (11)