Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 26, 2013	Dec. 05, 2013	Mar. 28, 2013
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 26, 2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Entity Registrant Name	PANTRY INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000915862
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--09-26
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		23,533,554
Entity Public Float			$ 282,128,438