Parent Financial Statements Income Statement (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2012		Sep. 30, 2012		Jul. 01, 2012		Apr. 01, 2012		Jan. 01, 2012		Oct. 02, 2011		Jul. 03, 2011		Apr. 03, 2011		Dec. 30, 2012	Jan. 01, 2012	Jan. 02, 2011
Parent Financial Statements
Investment income, Net																	$ 36,243	$ 484	$ 5,259
Total revenues	629,879	[1],[2]	636,308	[1],[2],[3]	645,868	[1],[3]	593,187	[1],[4]	615,018	[5]	611,416	[5]	622,459	[5]	582,465	[5]	2,505,242	2,431,358	2,375,439
General and administrative																	287,808	292,390	311,511
Depreciation and amortization																	146,976	122,992	126,846
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets																	21,097	12,883	26,326
Other Operating Income (Expense), Net																	(4,335)	(4,152)	(3,357)
Costs and Expenses																	2,382,495	2,294,237	2,224,994
(Loss) income from continuing operations before income taxes and noncontrolling interests																	(13,125)	24,440	13,556
Benefit from (provision for) income taxes																	21,083	(6,528)	4,555
Income from continuing operations																	5,574	17,912	18,111
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations																	1,509	(8,037)	(22,436)
Net Income (loss) attributable to The Wendy's Company	26,388	[1],[2]	(26,162)	[1],[2],[3]	(5,493)	[1],[3]	12,350	[1],[4]	3,984	[5]	(3,966)	[5]	11,266	[5]	(1,409)	[5]	7,083	9,875	(4,325)
Parent Company [Member]
Parent Financial Statements
Equity in Income from Subdiaries, Continuing Operations																	29,708	21,115	20,261
Investment income, Net																	0	0	4,913
Total revenues																	29,708	21,115	25,174
General and administrative																	10,911	10,476	8,087
Depreciation and amortization																	1,975	627	1,863
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets																	1,628	0	0
Facilities Relocation Costs and Other Transactions																	5,327	1,234	0
Other Operating Income (Expense), Net																	953	960	(517)
Costs and Expenses																	20,794	13,297	9,433
(Loss) income from continuing operations before income taxes and noncontrolling interests																	8,914	7,818	15,741
Benefit from (provision for) income taxes																	3,340	(10,094)	(2,370)
Income from continuing operations																	5,574	17,912	18,111
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations																	1,509	(8,037)	(22,436)
Net Income (loss) attributable to The Wendy's Company																	$ 7,083	$ 9,875	$ (4,325)

[1] Operating profit in 2012 was materially affected by facilities relocation costs and other transactions and impairment of long-lived assets. The impact of facilities relocation costs and other transactions on net income (loss) attributable to The Wendy’s Company for the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2012 was $3,808, $6,164, $7,066 and $8,311, respectively, after income tax benefits of $2,335, $3,824, $4,364 and $5,159, respectively (see Note 17 for additional information). The impact of the impairment of long-lived assets on net income (loss) attributable to The Wendy’s Company during the first, second and fourth quarters of 2012 was $2,783, $2,018 and $8,216, respectively, after income tax benefits of $1,728, $1,252 and $5,100, respectively (see Note 18 for additional information).

[2] (Loss) income from continuing operations was materially affected during the third and fourth quarters of 2012 by corrections related to prior years’ tax matters which had an effect of increasing our benefit from income taxes by $2,181 and $5,439, respectively. Income from discontinued operations was also affected during the third quarter of 2012 by such corrections which had an effect of increasing our benefit from income taxes by $580. See Notes 2 and 14 for additional information.

[3] Net loss attributable to The Wendy’s Company was materially affected during the second and third quarters of 2012 by losses on the early extinguishment of debt of $15,621 and $30,926, respectively, after income tax benefits of $9,574 and $18,955, respectively. See Note 12 for additional information.

[4] Net income attributable to The Wendy’s Company was materially affected during the first quarter of 2012 by a $17,978 gain on the sale of our investment in Jurlique. As a result of the sale, we have reflected net income attributable to noncontrolling interests of $2,384. See Note 8 for additional information.

[5] The operating profit was materially affected by facilities relocation costs and other transactions in each of the 2011 quarters and impairment of long-lived assets in the first and fourth quarters of 2011. The impact of facilities relocation costs and other transactions on net (loss) income for the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2011 was $1,178, $3,149, $14,899 and $9,288, respectively, after income tax benefits of $706, $1,890, $8,940 and $5,661, respectively. The impact of the impairment of long-lived assets on net (loss) income for the first and fourth quarters of 2011 was $4,865 and $2,847, respectively, after income tax benefits of $3,032 and $1,774, respectively.