Cash and Receivables (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Jan. 03, 2016

Cash and Receivables [Abstract]

Schedule of Cash and Cash Equivalents [Table Text Block]

	Year End
	2015		2014
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash	$	281,877	$	205,662
Cash equivalents	45,339		61,450
	$	327,216	$	267,112
Restricted cash equivalents
Current (a)
Collateral supporting letters of credit	$	13,210	$	16,843
Accounts held by trustee for the securitized financing facility	29,327		—
Trust for termination costs for former Wendy’s executives	168		168
Other	164		160
	$	42,869	$	17,171
Non-current (b)
Trust for termination costs for former Wendy’s executives	$	1,191	$	2,068

_______________

(a) Included in “Prepaid expenses and other current assets.”

(b) Included in “Other assets.”

Schedule of Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Table Text Block]

	Year End
	2015			2014
Accounts and Notes Receivable
Current
Accounts receivable:
Franchisees	$	71,158		$	46,433
Other (a)	34,828			19,970
	105,986			66,403
Notes receivable from franchisees (b) (c)	2,356			4,151
	108,342			70,554
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(3,488		)	(2,343		)
	$	104,854		$	68,211
Non-Current (d)
Notes receivable from franchisees (b)	$	5,158		$	4,931
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(257		)	(246		)
	$	4,901		$	4,685

_______________

(a) Includes income tax refund receivables of $23,508 and $8,431 as of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, respectively. See Note 14 for further information.

(b) Includes notes receivable from franchisees received in connection with the sale of company-owned restaurants during 2014, of which $83 and $3,520 are included in current notes receivable and $331 and $414 are included in non-current notes receivable as of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, respectively. See Note 3 for further information.

Also includes notes receivable from a franchisee in connection with the termination of our investment in a joint venture in Japan, of which $701 and $266 are included in current notes receivable and $2,212 and $2,179 of non-current notes receivable as of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, respectively. See Note 8 for further information.

Non-current notes receivable, as of January 3, 2016, include a note receivable from the Brazil JV of $1,700. See Note 8 for further information.

(c) Includes the current portion of direct financing lease receivables of $25 and $193 as of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, respectively. See Note 20 for further information.

(d) Included in “Other assets.”

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Table Text Block]

The following is an analysis of the allowance for doubtful accounts:

	Year End
	2015		2014			2013
Balance at beginning of year:
Current	$	2,343	$	3,310		$	5,740
Non-current	246		256			2,881
Provision for doubtful accounts:
Franchisees and other	979		(925		)	(320		)
Uncollectible accounts written off, net of recoveries	177		(52		)	(4,735		)
Balance at end of year:
Current	3,488		2,343			3,310
Non-current	257		246			256
Total	$	3,745	$	2,589		$	3,566