FISCAL 2011 BUSINESS AND LICENSE ACQUISITIONS (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended			9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Feb. 28, 2012	Mar. 01, 2011	May 31, 2011	Feb. 28, 2012	Mar. 01, 2011	May 31, 2011	May 31, 2011 Previously Reported [Member]	May 31, 2011 Adjustments [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Rights [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Assets Intangible Assets Operating Lease Contracts [Member]	May 31, 2011 Assets Intangible Assets Operating Lease Contracts [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Liabilities Intangible Assets Unfavorable Operating Lease Contracts [Member]	May 31, 2011 Liabilities Intangible Assets Unfavorable Operating Lease Contracts [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 LFMG International [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Gourmet Market, Inc [Member]	Mar. 01, 2011 Gourmet Market, Inc [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Gourmet Market, Inc [Member]	Mar. 01, 2011 Gourmet Market, Inc [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Lime Fresh Mexican Grill [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member]	Mar. 01, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member]	Mar. 01, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member]	May 31, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member]	Aug. 04, 2010 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] RT Minneapolis Franchise, LLC [Member]	May 31, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] RT Minneapolis Franchise, LLC [Member]	May 04, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] RT Minneapolis Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] North East Acquisitions [Member]	Aug. 04, 2010 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] North East Acquisitions [Member]	Feb. 02, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member]	Mar. 01, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Utah Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Utah Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 25, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Utah Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Western Missouri Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 02, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Western Missouri Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Omaha Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 02, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Omaha Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT KMCO Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 02, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT KMCO Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT St Louis Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 02, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT St Louis Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Indianapolis Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 02, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Indianapolis Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Portland Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 02, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Portland Franchise, LLC [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Denver Franchise, LP [Member]	Feb. 02, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Mid West and West [Member] RT Denver Franchise, LP [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Minneapolis and Las Vegas [Member]	May 31, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Minneapolis and Las Vegas [Member]	May 04, 2011 Franchise Partnership Acquisitions [Member] Minneapolis and Las Vegas [Member]	May 31, 2011 Traditional Domestic Franchises [Member]	May 31, 2011 Traditional Domestic Franchises [Member] Mid West and West [Member]	Oct. 13, 2010 Traditional Domestic Franchises [Member] Mid West and West [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of restaurants acquired			96			109																		106									1																			3	3
Effective date of acquisition																											2011-05-04		2010-08-04			2011-02-25			2011-02-02		2011-02-02		2011-02-02		2011-02-02		2011-02-02		2011-02-02		2011-02-02			2011-05-04			2010-10-13
Ownership interest (in hundredths)																						100.00%				100.00%			100.00%						100.00%		100.00%		100.00%		100.00%		100.00%		100.00%		100.00%		100.00%
Ownership interest acquired (in hundredths)																									50.00%			50.00%		99.00%						50.00%		50.00%		50.00%		50.00%		99.00%		99.00%		99.00%			99.00%
Ownership interest prior to acquisition (in hundredths)																																	1.00%
Number of franchises acquired																															7																				2
Number of restaurants operated by franchise acquired																														10	72																				13
Purchase consideration cash																														$ 200,000	$ 500,000			$ 2,000,000																				$ 1,600,000
Notes and lines of credit, net of allowances for doubtful accounts																														400,000	900,000
Franchise partnerships acquired total debt																														24,300,000	106,600,000																				18,700,000
Franchise partnerships debt payable to acquirer																														1,900,000	3,800,000																				900,000
Number of restaurants closed before acquisition transaction																																	5
Preliminary bargain purchase gain					1,900,000
(Gain) / loss on settlement of preexisting contracts, net					4,900,000
Goodwill, expected tax nondeductible amount		4,400,000			4,400,000
Other intangible assets, amortization period, range minimum (in years)									2Y	1Y		1Y
Other intangible assets, amortization period, range maximum (in years)									12Y	33Y		33Y
License acquisitions [Abstract]
Initiation date of license agreement														Sep. 13, 2010			Jul. 22, 2010
Initial development fee														1,000,000
Licensing fee per new restaurant opening														5,000
Restaurants to open for with license fee, maximum														200
Royalty fee to gross sales (in hundredths)														2.00%
Licensing fee to gross sales (in hundredths)																	2.00%
Advertising fee to gross sales (in hundredths)														1.00%
Monthly fee for consulting services, maximum period (in years)																	2Y
Monthly fee for consulting services, first year (per month)																	20,833
Monthly fee for consulting services option 1, second year (per month)																	20,833
Basis for paying second year option 1, Concept restaurant openings, minimum threshold																	three or more
Monthly fee for consulting services option 2, second year (per month)																	10,417
Basis for paying second year rent option 2, concept restaurant openings, maximum threshold																	two or fewer
Licensing option 1 to terminate future development rights, Concept restaurant openings, minimum threshold																	18 or more
License option 1 for future development rights, opened concept restaurants, maximum (in years)																	5Y
Licensee option 2 to terminate future development rights, opened concept restaurants																	40 or more
Licensee option 2 for future development rights, maximum (in years)																	10Y
Payments for consulting services															49,108	70,912	147,205	154,246
Operating results for acquired franchise partnerships [Abstract]
Total revenue	323,464,000	317,158,000		958,521,000	906,745,000															41,412,000	19,649,000	128,303,000	32,975,000
Cost of merchandise	93,084,000	92,780,000		282,221,000	262,410,000															11,908,000	5,804,000	37,545,000	9,629,000
Payroll and related costs	111,881,000	106,205,000		332,645,000	306,170,000															14,884,000	6,578,000	45,848,000	10,981,000
Other restaurant operating costs	63,299,000	65,711,000		197,383,000	186,512,000															8,950,000	4,580,000	27,725,000	7,684,000
Depreciation	16,239,000	15,597,000		48,939,000	46,338,000															2,089,000	848,000	6,356,000	1,665,000
Selling, general, and administrative, net	22,925,000	18,449,000		73,087,000	62,229,000															2,384,000	1,009,000	8,232,000	1,807,000
Total operating costs and expenses	323,595,000	303,518,000		959,483,000	875,310,000															40,215,000	18,819,000	125,706,000	31,766,000
(Loss)/income before income taxes	1,232,000	15,545,000		3,142,000	36,890,000															1,197,000	830,000	2,597,000	1,209,000
Pro forma information [Abstract]
Elimination of the franchises' historical intangible asset amortization expense		100,000			200,000
Elimination of RTI's franchise revenue		100,000			500,000
Elimination of RTI's support service fee income and marketing reimbursements		600,000			1,900,000
Elimination of RTI's equity in losses of unconsolidated franchises		900,000			600,000
Elimination of RTI's bad debt charges relating to notes receivable and lines of credit due from the acquired franchises		300,000			200,000
Additional amortization expense related to reacquired franchise rights		200,000			800,000
Additional depreciation expense related to the fair value adjustments to property and equipment		100,000			600,000
Reduced interest expense related to the fair value adjustments of acquired franchise debt		200,000			800,000
Elimination of acquisition-related expenses		100,000			200,000
Statutory tax rate (in hundredths)		39.70%
Franchises' FICA Tip and Work Opportunity Tax Credits		200,000			600,000
Total revenue		345,061,000			1,017,833,000
Net income		15,171,000			31,992,000
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)		$ 0.24			$ 0.50
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)		$ 0.23			$ 0.49
Allocation of purchase prices of acquisition [Abstract]
Property and equipment			137,075,000			137,075,000	137,075,000	0
Goodwill			16,919,000			16,919,000	15,571,000	1,348,000
Reacquired franchise rights			10,242,000			10,242,000	10,242,000	0
Other intangible assets, net of liabilities			735,000			735,000	735,000	0			2,000,000		1,300,000
Deferred income taxes			(548,000)			(548,000)	380,000	(928,000)
Long-term debt and capital leases			(147,005,000)			(147,005,000)	(147,005,000)	0
Other net liabilities			(4,536,000)			(4,536,000)	(4,536,000)	0
Notes receivable			(1,529,000)			(1,529,000)	(1,529,000)	0
Net impact on Consolidated Balance Sheet			11,353,000			11,353,000	10,933,000	420,000
Gain on settlement of preexisting contracts, net						(4,906,000)	(4,906,000)	0
Gain on acquisitions						(2,190,000)	(1,770,000)	(420,000)
Net impact on Consolidated Statement of Income						(7,096,000)	(6,676,000)	(420,000)
Aggregate cash purchase price			4,257,000			4,257,000	4,257,000	0											24,000,000
Liabilities - Net with other intangible assets							$ 1,288,000