Note 5 - Property, Equipment, Assets Held for Sale, Operating Leases, and Sale-leaseback Transactions (Tables)

12 Months Ended

May 31, 2016

Sublease [Member]

Notes Tables

Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases [Table Text Block]

	Franchisee s		Others		Total
201 7	$	247	$	568	$	815
2018		247		490		737
2019		208		393		601
2020		27		396		423
2021		–		411		411
Subsequent years		–		1,324		1,324
Total minimum sub-lease payments	$	729	$	3,582	$	4,311

Property, Plant and Equipment [Table Text Block]

	201 6		201 5
Land	$	209,930	$	212,073
Buildings		398,984		426,813
Improvements		303,032		358,549
Restaurant equipment		222,646		247,775
Other equipment		82,204		87,782
Surplus properties*		4,354		10,504
Construction in progress and other		3,325		4,316
		1,224,475		1,347,812
Less accumulated depreciation		553,225		595,638
Property and equipment, net	$	671,250	$	752,174

Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases [Table Text Block]

201 7	$	45,507
201 8		43,492
201 9		40,757
20 20		37,533
20 21		35,259
Subsequent years		410,636
Total minimum lease payments	$	613,184

Schedule of Rent Expense [Table Text Block]

	20 1 6			20 15			20 14
Included within continuing operations
Minimum rent	$	49,699		$	50,489		$	52,774
Contingent rent		662			745			430
		50,361			51,234			53,204
Sublease rental income		(940	)		(504	)		(409	)
	$	49,421		$	50,730		$	52,795