Impairment and other charges, net (Details) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended					9 Months Ended
		Oct. 01, 2017 restaurant	Jul. 09, 2017 USD ($)		Apr. 16, 2017 USD ($) restaurant	Jul. 03, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 09, 2017 USD ($)		Jul. 03, 2016 USD ($)		Oct. 02, 2016 USD ($)
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Costs			$ 1,837			$ 7,744	$ 6,081		$ 7,744	[1]
Costs of closed restaurants and other (primarily lease obligations)			2,244			914	5,434		2,489
Losses (gains) on the disposition of property and equipment, net							2,186		2,295
Asset Impairment Charges			505			551	505		551
accelerated depreciation			674			673	1,394		1,531
Impairment and other charges, net			6,212			10,519	15,600		14,598
Qdoba evaluation cost [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Costs	[2]		1,654			0	1,654		0
Facility Closing [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Costs	[3]		0			847	2,908		847
Additions							482
Employee Severance [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Costs			179			6,487	722		6,487
Restructuring Reserve			667				667				$ 4,198
Additions							722
Cash payments							(4,253)
Other Restructuring [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Costs	[4]		4			410	797		410
Impairment, Disposition, Closing Costs, and Restructuring [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Reserve			6,374	[5],[6]			6,374	[5],[6]			7,231
Restructuring Reserve, Accrual Adjustment	[7]						966
Cash payments							(3,501)
Restaurant Closing Costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Other Accrued Liabilities			2,200				2,200
Qdoba [Member] | Facility Closing [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs							1,200
Restructuring Reserve			2,718				2,718				$ 0
Cash payments							(212)
Reversal of Tenant Improvement Allowances and Deferred Rent			900				900
Reversal of Tenant Improvement Allowances			300				300
Shared Services [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Costs	[1]		168			1,535	439		1,535
Jack in the box brand restaurant operations [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Costs			0			1,796	159		1,796
Qdoba brand restaurant operations [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Number of Restaurants Closed | restaurant					1
Restructuring Costs	[8]		1,669			4,413	5,483		4,413
Interest Expense [Member] | Impairment, Disposition, Closing Costs, and Restructuring [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Reserve, Accrual Adjustment							1,196
Interest Expense [Member] | Qdoba [Member] | Facility Closing [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Reserve, Accrual Adjustment							$ 3
Weighted Average [Member] | Impairment, Disposition, Closing Costs, and Restructuring [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
RemainingLeaseCommitmentTerm							4
Continuing Operations [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Losses (gains) on the disposition of property and equipment, net			$ 952			$ 637	$ 2,186		$ 2,283
Commitments [Member] | Qdoba [Member] | Facility Closing [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Additions							2,927
Commitments [Member] | Jack in the box brand restaurant operations [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Costs and Asset Impairment Charges							500
Property, Plant and Equipment [Member] | Jack in the box brand restaurant operations [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Costs and Asset Impairment Charges							$ 500
Property, Plant and Equipment [Member] | Qdoba brand restaurant operations [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Costs and Asset Impairment Charges					$ 400
Scenario, Forecast [Member] | Jack in the box brand restaurant operations [Member] | accelerated depreciation [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Number of Restaurants | restaurant		2
Scenario, Forecast [Member] | Qdoba brand restaurant operations [Member] | accelerated depreciation [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Number of Restaurants | restaurant		3

[1] (1)Shared service functions consist primarily of accounting/finance, information technology, human resources, audit services, legal, tax and treasury.

[2] (1)Qdoba Evaluation costs are primarily comprised of third party consulting, legal services, and audit fees.

[3] (2)Year-to-date 2017 facility closing costs includes $2.9 million in costs for the accrual of the future lease commitment and expected ancillary costs, net of anticipated sublease rental, for our Qdoba corporate support center, which was offset by $0.9 million due to the reversal of the related tenant improvement allowance, and $0.3 million due to the reversal of the related straight-line rent expense. Year-to-date 2017, facility closing costs also includes $1.2 million of accelerated depreciation related to the relocation of our Qdoba corporate support center.

[4] (3)Other primarily represents employee relocation costs and moving expenses related to the relocation of our Qdoba corporate support center

[5] (2)The weighted average remaining lease term related to these commitments is approximately 4 years.

[6] (3)This balance excludes $2.2 million of restaurant closing costs that are included in accrued liabilities and other long-term liabilities, which were initially recorded as losses on the sale of company-operated restaurants upon sale to Jack in the Box franchisees in prior years.

[7] (1)Adjustments relate primarily to revisions of certain sublease and cost assumptions. Our estimates related to our future lease obligations, primarily the sublease income we anticipate, are subject to a high degree of judgment and may differ from actual sublease income due to changes in economic conditions, desirability of the sites and other factors.

[8] (2)Includes Qdoba Evaluation costs.