Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets Schedule of Goodwill and Other Intangibles (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 03, 2021 USD ($) number_of_restaurants	Dec. 29, 2019 USD ($) number_of_restaurants	Dec. 30, 2018 USD ($)
Goodwill
Goodwill, gross	$ 760,446	$ 765,308	$ 757,281
Accumulated impairment losses	(9,397)	(9,397)	(9,397)
Goodwill, net	751,049	755,911	747,884
Restaurant acquisitions		6,931
Restaurant dispositions	(5,394)
Currency translation adjustment and other	$ 532	$ 1,096
Number of restaurants classified as held for sale | number_of_restaurants	43	0
Goodwill reclassified to assets held for sale	$ 5,394
Wendy's U.S.
Goodwill
Goodwill, gross	596,874	$ 602,491	595,560
Accumulated impairment losses	0	0	0
Goodwill, net	596,874	602,491	595,560
Restaurant acquisitions		6,931
Restaurant dispositions	(5,394)
Currency translation adjustment and other	(223)	0
Wendy's International
Goodwill
Goodwill, gross	41,024	40,269	39,173
Accumulated impairment losses	(9,397)	(9,397)	(9,397)
Goodwill, net	31,627	30,872	29,776
Restaurant acquisitions		0
Restaurant dispositions	0
Currency translation adjustment and other	755	1,096
Global Real Estate & Development
Goodwill
Goodwill, gross	122,548	122,548	122,548
Accumulated impairment losses	0	0	0
Goodwill, net	122,548	122,548	$ 122,548
Restaurant acquisitions		0
Restaurant dispositions	0
Currency translation adjustment and other	$ 0	$ 0