BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES	3 Months Ended
Dec. 28, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation and Critical Accounting Policies	BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES The consolidated condensed balance sheet as of September 28, 2019, which has been derived from audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 28, 2019 (“Form 10-K”), and the unaudited interim consolidated condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted. All adjustments that, in the opinion of management are necessary for a fair presentation for the periods presented, have been reflected as required by Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Such adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature. These consolidated condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Form 10-K. The Company had a working capital deficiency of $10,086,000 at December 28, 2019. We believe that our existing cash balances, current banking facilities and cash provided by operations will be sufficient to meet our liquidity and capital spending requirements at least through February 12, 2021. PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION — The consolidated condensed interim financial statements include the accounts of Ark Restaurants Corp. and all of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, partnerships and other entities in which it has a controlling interest, collectively herein referred to as the “Company”. Also included in the consolidated condensed interim financial statements are certain variable interest entities (“VIEs”). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. USE OF ESTIMATES — The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The accounting estimates that require management’s most difficult and subjective judgments include allowances for potential bad debts on receivables, assumptions regarding discount rates related to lease accounting, the useful lives and recoverability of its assets, such as property and intangibles, fair values of financial instruments and share-based compensation, the realizable value of its tax assets and determining when investment impairments are other-than-temporary. Because of the uncertainty in such estimates, actual results may differ from these estimates. The results of operations for the 13 weeks ended December 28, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any other interim period or for the year ending October 3, 2020. SEASONALITY — The Company has substantial fixed costs that do not decline proportionally with sales. The first and second fiscal quarters, which include the winter months, usually reflect lower customer traffic than in the third and fourth fiscal quarters. However, sales in the third and fourth fiscal quarters can be adversely affected by inclement weather due to the significant amount of outdoor seating at the Company’s restaurants. FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS — The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents, receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value due to the immediate or short-term maturity of these financial instruments. The fair values of notes receivable and payable are determined using current applicable rates for similar instruments as of the balance sheet dates and approximate the carrying value of such debt instruments. CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, deposits with banks and highly liquid investments generally with original maturities of three months or less. Outstanding checks in excess of account balances, typically vendor payments, payroll and other contractual obligations disbursed after the last day of a reporting period are reported as a current liability in the accompanying consolidated condensed balance sheets. CONCENTRATIONS OF CREDIT RISK — Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Company reduces credit risk by placing its cash and cash equivalents with major financial institutions with high credit ratings. At times, such amounts may exceed Federally insured limits. Accounts receivable are primarily comprised of normal business receivables, such as credit card receivables, that are collected in a short period of time and amounts due from the hotel operators where the Company has a location, and are recorded upon satisfaction of the performance obligation. The Company reviews the collectability of its receivables on an ongoing basis, and provides for an allowance when it considers the entity unable to meet its obligation. The concentration of credit risk with respect to accounts receivable is generally limited due to the short payment terms extended by the Company and the number of customers comprising the Company’s customer base. As of December 28, 2019, the Company had accounts receivable balances due from one hotel operator totaling 38% of total accounts receivable. As of September 28, 2019, the Company had accounts receivable balances due from one hotel operator totaling 34% of total accounts receivable. For the 13-week period ended December 28, 2019, the Company did not make purchases from any vendor that accounted for 10% or greater of total purchases for the respective period. For the 13-week period ended December 29, 2018, the Company made purchases from one vendor that accounted for 11% of total purchases. As of December 28, 2019 and September 28, 2019, all debt outstanding is with one lender (see Note 7 – Notes Payable – Bank). REVENUE RECOGNITION — We recognize revenues when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring control over a product or service to a restaurant guest or other customer. Revenues from restaurant operations are presented net of discounts, coupons, employee meals and complimentary meals and recognized when food, beverage and retail products are sold. Sales tax collected from customers is excluded from sales and the obligation is included in sales tax payable until the taxes are remitted to the appropriate taxing authorities. Catering service revenue is generated through contracts with customers whereby the customer agrees to pay a contract rate for the service. Revenues from catered events are recognized in income upon satisfaction of the performance obligation (the date the event is held) and all customer payments, including nonrefundable upfront deposits, are deferred as a liability until such time. We recognized $5,682,000 and $5,830,000 in catering services revenue for the 13-week periods ended December 28, 2019 and December 29, 2018, respectively. Unearned revenue which is included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the consolidated condensed balance sheets as of December 28, 2019 and September 28, 2019, was $3,067,000 and $4,549,000, respectively. LEASES — We determine if an arrangement contains a lease at inception. An arrangement contains a lease if it implicitly or explicitly identifies an asset to be used and conveys the right to control the use of the identified asset in exchange for consideration. As a lessee, we include operating leases in Operating lease right-of-use assets and Operating lease liabilities in our consolidated condensed balance sheet. Right-of-use assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease right-of-use assets and liabilities are recognized upon commencement of the lease based on the present value of the lease payments over the lease term. As most of our leases do not provide an implicit interest rate, we use our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date to determine the present value of lease payments. Our lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease. Options are included when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Leases with a lease term of 12 months or less are accounted for using the practical expedient which allows for straight-line rent expense over the remaining term of the lease. SEGMENT REPORTING — As of December 28, 2019, the Company owned and operated 20 restaurants and bars, 17 fast food concepts and catering operations, exclusively in the United States, that have similar economic characteristics, nature of products and services, class of customers and distribution methods. The Company believes it meets the criteria for aggregating its operating segments into a single reporting segment in accordance with applicable accounting guidance. RECENTLY ADOPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES — In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which amends the existing accounting standards for lease accounting, including requiring lessees to recognize assets and liabilities for leases with lease terms of more than twelve months. The new guidance also requires additional disclosures about leases. The Company adopted the new standard on September 29, 2019 (the first day of fiscal year 2020) using the modified retrospective approach, without restating comparative periods for those lease contracts for which we have taken possession of the property as of September 28, 2019. Accordingly, prior period amounts were not revised and continue to be reported in accordance with ASC Topic 840 (“ASC 840”), the accounting standard then in effect. As part of our adoption we elected the "package of practical expedients", as well as the hindsight practical expedient, permitted under the new guidance, which, among other things, allowed the Company to continue utilizing historical classifications of leases as well as allowing us to combine lease and non-lease components of our real estate leases. We also elected to adopt the short-term lease exception for all leases with terms of twelve months or less and account for them using straight-line rent expense over the remaining life of the lease. As a result of the adoption of this guidance, we recorded right-of-use assets of $62,330,000 and lease liabilities related to our real estate operating leases of $63,943,000. The adoption of this standard did not materially impact retained earnings or our consolidated condensed statement of operations and had no impact on cash flows. In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Non-employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies the accounting for share-based payments granted to non-employees for goods and services. Under this ASU, the guidance on share-based payments to non-employees would be aligned with the requirements for share-based payments granted to employees, with certain exceptions. The Company adopted this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2020. Such adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated condensed financial statements. NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS NOT YET ADOPTED — In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That is a Service Contract, which requires a customer in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract to follow the internal-use software guidance in ASC 350-40 to determine which implementation costs to capitalize as assets. A customer’s accounting for the costs of the hosting component of the arrangement are not affected by the new guidance. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this standard is not expected to result in a material impact to the Company’s consolidated condensed financial statements.

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The consolidated condensed balance sheet as of September 28, 2019, which has been derived from audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 28, 2019 (“Form 10-K”), and the unaudited interim consolidated condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted. All adjustments that, in the opinion of management are necessary for a fair presentation for the periods presented, have been reflected as required by Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Such adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature. These consolidated condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Form 10-K.

The Company had a working capital deficiency of $10,086,000 at December 28, 2019. We believe that our existing cash balances, current banking facilities and cash provided by operations will be sufficient to meet our liquidity and capital spending requirements at least through February 12, 2021.

PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION — The consolidated condensed interim financial statements include the accounts of Ark Restaurants Corp. and all of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, partnerships and other entities in which it has a controlling interest, collectively herein referred to as the “Company”. Also included in the consolidated condensed interim financial statements are certain variable interest entities (“VIEs”). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

USE OF ESTIMATES — The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The accounting estimates that require management’s most difficult and subjective judgments include allowances for potential bad debts on receivables, assumptions regarding discount rates related to lease accounting, the useful lives and recoverability of its assets, such as property and intangibles, fair values of financial instruments and share-based compensation, the realizable value of its tax assets and determining when investment impairments are other-than-temporary. Because of the uncertainty in such estimates, actual results may differ from these estimates. The results of operations for the 13 weeks ended December 28, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any other interim period or for the year ending October 3, 2020.

SEASONALITY — The Company has substantial fixed costs that do not decline proportionally with sales. The first and second fiscal quarters, which include the winter months, usually reflect lower customer traffic than in the third and fourth fiscal quarters. However, sales in the third and fourth fiscal quarters can be adversely affected by inclement weather due to the significant amount of outdoor seating at the Company’s restaurants.

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS — The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents, receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value due to the immediate or short-term maturity of these financial instruments. The fair values of notes receivable and payable are determined using current applicable rates for similar instruments as of the balance sheet dates and approximate the carrying value of such debt instruments.

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, deposits with banks and highly liquid investments generally with original maturities of three months or less. Outstanding checks in excess of account balances, typically vendor payments, payroll and other contractual obligations disbursed after the last day of a reporting period are reported as a current liability in the accompanying consolidated condensed balance sheets.

CONCENTRATIONS OF CREDIT RISK — Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Company reduces credit risk by placing its cash and cash equivalents with major financial institutions with high credit ratings. At times, such amounts may exceed Federally insured limits. Accounts receivable are primarily comprised of normal business receivables, such as credit card receivables, that are collected in a short period of time and amounts due from the hotel operators where the Company has a location, and are recorded upon satisfaction of the performance obligation. The Company reviews the collectability of its receivables on an ongoing basis, and provides for an allowance when it considers the entity unable to meet its obligation. The concentration of credit risk with respect to accounts receivable is generally limited due to the short payment terms extended by the Company and the number of customers comprising the Company’s customer base.

As of December 28, 2019, the Company had accounts receivable balances due from one hotel operator totaling 38% of total accounts receivable. As of September 28, 2019, the Company had accounts receivable balances due from one hotel operator totaling 34% of total accounts receivable.

For the 13-week period ended December 28, 2019, the Company did not make purchases from any vendor that accounted for 10% or greater of total purchases for the respective period. For the 13-week period ended December 29, 2018, the Company made purchases from one vendor that accounted for 11% of total purchases.

As of December 28, 2019 and September 28, 2019, all debt outstanding is with one lender (see Note 7 – Notes Payable – Bank).

REVENUE RECOGNITION — We recognize revenues when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring control over a product or service to a restaurant guest or other customer. Revenues from restaurant operations are presented net of discounts, coupons, employee meals and complimentary meals and recognized when food, beverage and retail products are sold. Sales tax collected from customers is excluded from sales and the obligation is included in sales tax payable until the taxes are remitted to the appropriate taxing authorities. Catering service revenue is generated through contracts with customers whereby the customer agrees to pay a contract rate for the service. Revenues from catered events are recognized in income upon satisfaction of the performance obligation (the date the event is held) and all customer payments, including nonrefundable upfront deposits, are deferred as a liability until such time. We recognized $5,682,000 and $5,830,000 in catering services revenue for the 13-week periods ended December 28, 2019 and December 29, 2018, respectively. Unearned revenue which is included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the consolidated condensed balance sheets as of December 28, 2019 and September 28, 2019, was $3,067,000 and $4,549,000, respectively.

LEASES — We determine if an arrangement contains a lease at inception. An arrangement contains a lease if it implicitly or explicitly identifies an asset to be used and conveys the right to control the use of the identified asset in exchange for consideration. As a lessee, we include operating leases in Operating lease right-of-use assets and Operating lease liabilities in our consolidated condensed balance sheet. Right-of-use assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease right-of-use assets and liabilities are recognized upon commencement of the lease based on the present value of the lease payments over the lease term. As most of our leases do not provide an implicit interest rate, we use our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date to determine the present value of lease payments. Our lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease. Options are included when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Leases with a lease term of 12 months or less are accounted for using the practical expedient which allows for straight-line rent expense over the remaining term of the lease.

SEGMENT REPORTING — As of December 28, 2019, the Company owned and operated 20 restaurants and bars, 17 fast food concepts and catering operations, exclusively in the United States, that have similar economic characteristics, nature of products and services, class of customers and distribution methods. The Company believes it meets the criteria for aggregating its operating segments into a single reporting segment in accordance with applicable accounting guidance.

RECENTLY ADOPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES — In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which amends the existing accounting standards for lease accounting, including requiring lessees to recognize assets and liabilities for leases with lease terms of more than twelve months. The new guidance also requires additional disclosures about leases. The Company adopted the new standard on September 29, 2019 (the first day of fiscal year 2020) using the modified retrospective approach, without restating comparative periods for those lease contracts for which we have taken possession of the property as of September 28, 2019. Accordingly, prior period amounts were not revised and continue to be reported in accordance with ASC Topic 840 (“ASC 840”), the accounting standard then in effect. As part of our adoption we elected the "package of practical expedients", as well as the hindsight practical expedient, permitted under the new guidance, which, among other things, allowed the Company to continue utilizing historical classifications of leases as well as allowing us to combine lease and non-lease components of our real estate leases. We also elected to adopt the short-term lease exception for all leases with terms of twelve months or less and account for them using straight-line rent expense over the remaining life of the lease. As a result of the adoption of this guidance, we recorded right-of-use assets of $62,330,000 and lease liabilities related to our real estate operating leases of $63,943,000. The adoption of this standard did not materially impact retained earnings or our consolidated condensed statement of operations and had no impact on cash flows.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Non-employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies the accounting for share-based payments granted to non-employees for goods and services. Under this ASU, the guidance on share-based payments to non-employees would be aligned with the requirements for share-based payments granted to employees, with certain exceptions. The Company adopted this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2020. Such adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated condensed financial statements.

NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS NOT YET ADOPTED — In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That is a Service Contract, which requires a customer in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract to follow the internal-use software guidance in ASC 350-40 to determine which implementation costs to capitalize as assets. A customer’s accounting for the costs of the hosting component of the arrangement are not affected by the new guidance. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this standard is not expected to result in a material impact to the Company’s consolidated condensed financial statements.