(24) Guarantees and Other Commitments and Contingencies Lease Guarantees (Details) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
Jan. 01, 2012 Wendy's Restaurants, LLC [Member] Property Lease Guarantee [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2012 Wendy's Restaurants, LLC [Member] Indirect Guarantee of Indebtedness [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2012 Canadian Subsidiaries [Member] Property Lease Guarantee [Member] CAD
Guarantor Obligations [Line Items]
Guarantor obligations, maximum exposure, undiscounted	$ 46,502	$ 8,029	249
Lease guarantee, program maximum			5,000
Lease guarantee program, years	5 years

Maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee or each group of similar guarantees before reduction for potential recoveries under recourse or collateralization provisions.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name FASB Interpretation (FIN)

-Number 45

-Paragraph 13

-Subparagraph b

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 460

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 4

-Subparagraph (b)(1)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6851643&loc=d3e12069-110248

Name:	us-gaap_GuaranteeObligationsMaximumExposure
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant