Investments Investment in Jurlique (Details) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended													12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2012 USD ($)		Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)		Jul. 01, 2012 USD ($)		Apr. 01, 2012 USD ($)		Dec. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2012 USD ($)	Jan. 02, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2012 Jurlique International Pty Ltd [Member] USD ($)		Jan. 01, 2012 Jurlique International Pty Ltd [Member] USD ($)		Jan. 02, 2011 Jurlique International Pty Ltd [Member] USD ($)		Dec. 30, 2012 Jurlique International Pty Ltd [Member] AUD	Feb. 02, 2012 Jurlique International Pty Ltd [Member]	Dec. 28, 2008 Jurlique International Pty Ltd [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 02, 2012 Investments in Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member] Jurlique International Pty Ltd [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 Former Management [Member] Jurlique International Pty Ltd [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2012 Foreign Exchange Contract [Member] Loss on settlement of derivative instrument [Member] Jurlique International Pty Ltd [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2012 Deferred Costs and Other Assets [Member] Jurlique International Pty Ltd [Member] USD ($)
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Investment Subsidiary, Ownership Percentage																					99.70%
Cost Method Investment, Ownership Percentage																			0.00%
Cost investments												$ 0		$ 325						$ 8,500
Proceeds from the sale of Jurlique, expected												27,287
Escrow Deposit																								3,372
Proceeds from Sale of Other Investments, Expected																		28,500
Gain on sale of investment, net												27,407											(2,913)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	[1],[2]	0	[1],[2],[3]	0	[1],[3]	2,384	[1],[4]	(2,384)	0	0
Net income (Loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest, income tax benefit									1,283
Distributions to noncontrolling interests									$ (2,384)			$ 3,667	[5]	$ 0	[5]	$ 0	[5]					$ 2,296

[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] Jurl, a 99.7% owned subsidiary, completed the sale of our investment in Jurlique in February 2012. Prior to 2009, when our predecessor entity was a diversified company active in investments, we had provided our Former Executives, and certain other former employees, equity and profit interests in Jurl. In connection with the sale of Jurlique, we distributed, based on the related agreement, approximately $3,667 to Jurl’s minority shareholders, including approximately $2,296 to the Former Executives during 2012.