(23) Lease Commitments

12 Months Ended

Jan. 01, 2012

Lease Commitments [Abstract]

Leases

Lease Commitments

The Companies lease real property, leasehold interests, and restaurant, transportation, and office equipment. Some leases which relate to restaurant operations provide for contingent rentals based on sales volume. Certain leases also provide for payments of other costs such as real estate taxes, insurance and common area maintenance, which are not included in rental expense or the future minimum rental payments set forth below.

Rental expense under operating leases consists of the following components:

	2011
	Wendy’s Restaurants			Corporate			The Wendy’s Company
Minimum rentals	$	69,329		$	1,149		$	70,478
Contingent rentals	10,468			—			10,468
	79,797			1,149			80,946
Less sublease income	(13,746		)	(1,338		)	(15,084		)
	$	66,051		$	(189	)	$	65,862

	2010
	Wendy’s Restaurants			Corporate			The Wendy’s Company
Minimum rentals	$	67,587		$	1,262		$	68,849
Contingent rentals	10,033			—			10,033
	77,620			1,262			78,882
Less sublease income	(12,769		)	(1,506		)	(14,275		)
	$	64,851		$	(244	)	$	64,607

	2009
	Wendy’s Restaurants			Corporate			The Wendy’s Company
Minimum rentals	$	69,602		$	1,723		$	71,325
Contingent rentals	10,664			—			10,664
	80,266			1,723			81,989
Less sublease income	(13,877		)	(1,580		)	(15,457		)
	$	66,389		$	143		$	66,532

The Companies’ future minimum rental payments and rental receipts, for non-cancelable leases, including rental receipts for leased properties owned by the Companies, having an initial lease term in excess of one year as of January 1, 2012, are as follows:

	Rental Payments								Rental Receipts
Fiscal Year	Sale- Leaseback Obligations			Capitalized Leases			Operating Leases (a)		Sale- Leaseback Obligations		Capitalized Leases		Operating Leases (a)		Owned Properties
2012	$	95		$	2,779		$	75,161	$	117	$	536	$	6,433	$	3,968
2013	103			2,480			67,035		117		536		5,231		3,666
2014	106			2,442			61,581		117		536		4,645		3,576
2015	120			2,464			57,115		117		536		4,159		3,539
2016	111			2,073			52,890		117		536		3,665		3,492
Thereafter	2,699			19,882			644,883		1,464		4,630		24,826		36,007
Total minimum payments	3,234			32,120			$	958,665	$	2,049	$	7,310	$	48,959	$	54,248
Less amounts representing interest, with interest rates between 3% and 33%	(1,768		)	(16,898		)
Present value of minimum sale leaseback and capitalized lease payments	$	1,466		$	15,222

_____________________

(a) In addition to the amounts presented in the table above, The Wendy’s Company will have rental payments of $711 and rental receipts of $580 in 2012 under the lease for The Wendy’s Company’s former corporate headquarters and from the sublease for office space on two of the floors covered under the lease to a management company formed by our Chairman, who was our former Chief Executive Officer, our Vice Chairman, who was our former President and Chief Operating Officer, and a director, who was our former Vice Chairman (the “Management Company”).

As of January 1, 2012, the Companies had $83,343 of “Favorable leases,” net of accumulated amortization, included in “Other intangible assets” and $49,430 of unfavorable leases included in “Other liabilities,” or $33,913 of net favorable leases. The future minimum rental payments set forth above reflect the rent expense to be recognized over the lease terms and, accordingly, have been increased by the $33,913 of net favorable leases, net of (1) $23,582 of Straight-Line Rent and (2) $1,186 which represents amounts advanced by landlords for improvements of leased facilities and reimbursed through future rent payments, less payments to lessees for the right to assume leases which have below market rent. Estimated sublease future rental receipts exclude sublessor rental obligations for closed locations.

Properties leased by the Companies to third parties under capitalized leases and operating leases as of January 1, 2012 and January 2, 2011 include:

	Year End
	2011			2010
Land	$	24,211		$	27,434
Buildings and improvements	58,505			64,825
Office, restaurant and transportation equipment	4,377			4,133
	87,093			96,392
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(20,019		)	(18,344		)
	$	67,074		$	78,048

The present values of minimum sale-leaseback and capitalized lease payments are included either in “Long-term debt” or “Current portion of long-term debt,” as applicable.