Long-Term Debt Schedule of Long Term Debt (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended					0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Dec. 29, 2013		Jun. 30, 2013	Dec. 28, 2014		Dec. 29, 2013		Dec. 30, 2012	May 15, 2012	Oct. 24, 2013	Jul. 31, 2012	May 16, 2013	Sep. 30, 2008	Dec. 31, 2010	Sep. 24, 2013
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Capital Lease Obligations	$ 1,463,828			$ 1,448,143		$ 1,463,828
Less amounts payable within one year	(38,543)			(53,777)		(38,543)
Total long-term debt	1,425,285			1,394,366		1,425,285
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	7,544		21,019	0		28,563		75,076
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount				17,060
Term A Loans, due in 2018 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Capital Lease Obligations	570,625	[1]		541,733	[1]	570,625	[1]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount												350,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End				2.41%
Term B Loans, due 2019 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Capital Lease Obligations	767,452	[1]		759,758	[1]	767,452	[1]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount									1,125,000			769,375
Issuance Amount, Percent of Principal									99.00%
Original Issue Discount, Percentage									1.00%
Proceeds from Issuance of Debt									1,113,750
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount									11,250
Loss on early extinguishment of debt			21,019
Debt Instrument, Unused Borrowing Capacity, Amount												275,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End				3.25%
Term B Loans, due 2019 [Member] | Interest Expense [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Deferred Finance Costs, Noncurrent, Gross								15,566
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount												200,000
7% debentures, due in 2025 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Capital Lease Obligations	84,666	[2]		85,853	[2]	84,666	[2]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount													100,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End													8.60%
Other [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Capital Lease Obligations	353			0		353
Term Loan, 2010 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount														650,000
Collateral Supporting Letters of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount				16,843
Incremental Term Loans [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Proceeds from Issuance of Debt										225,000
Debt Instrument, Unused Borrowing Capacity, Amount															225,000
Term Loan, 2013 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	7,544
Foreign Subsidiary Stock Securing Debt, Percentage												65.00%
Term Loan, 2013 [Member] | Interest Expense [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Deferred Finance Costs, Noncurrent, Gross	7,961					7,961
6.20% Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage										6.20%
Debt Instrument, Redemption Price, Percentage						103.80%
10.0% Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage											10.00%
Debt Instrument, Redemption Amount											440,775
Debt Instrument, Redemption Price, Percentage											107.50%
Debt Instrument, Repurchase Amount									124,225
Debt Instrument, Repurchase Price, Percentage									108.125%
Fair Value Hedging [Member] | 6.20% Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Derivative Asset, Notional Amount										225,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Restated Credit Agreement, Revolver [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Fair Value of Amount Outstanding	0			0		0
Letter of Credit [Member] | Restated Credit Agreement, Revolver [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity												70,000
Line of Credit Facility, Unused Capacity, Commitment Fee Percentage				0.50%
Collateral Supporting Letters of Credit [Member] | Restated Credit Agreement, Revolver [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity												40,000
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member] | Term A Loans, due in 2018 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate												2.25%
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member] | Term B Loans, due 2019 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate												2.50%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range, Minimum												0.75%
Capital lease obligations, due through 2042 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Capital Lease Obligations	$ 40,732			$ 60,799		$ 40,732

[1] On May 15, 2012, Wendy’s entered into a Credit Agreement, as amended (the “Credit Agreement”) which included, among other instruments, a senior secured term loan facility of $1,125,000 (“Term B Loans”). The Term B Loans were issued at 99.0% of the principal amount, representing an original issue discount of 1.0% resulting in net proceeds of $1,113,750. The discount of $11,250 was accreted and the related charge included in “Interest expense” through the subsequent refinancing described below. During the year ended December 30, 2012, Wendy’s incurred $15,566 in costs related to the Credit Agreement, which were amortized to “Interest expense” through the subsequent refinancing described below utilizing the effective interest rate method. The Credit Agreement replaced the $650,000 credit agreement and the amended senior secured term loan (the “2010 Term Loan”) executed in 2010.On May 16, 2013, Wendy’s amended and restated the Credit Agreement (the “Restated Credit Agreement”). The Restated Credit Agreement is comprised of (1) a $350,000 senior secured term loan facility (“Term A Loans”) which will mature on May 15, 2018 and bears interest at the Eurodollar Rate (as defined in the Restated Credit Agreement) plus 2.25%, (2) $769,375 Term B Loans which will mature on May 15, 2019 and bear interest at the Eurodollar Rate plus 2.50% with a floor of 0.75% and (3) a $200,000 senior secured revolving credit facility which will mature on May 15, 2018. The proceeds from the Term A Loans were used to refinance a portion of our existing Term B Loans. As a result of this refinancing, Wendy’s incurred a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of $21,019 during the second quarter of 2013 which consisted of the write-off of the unaccreted discount on Term B Loans and the deferred costs associated with the Credit Agreement, as illustrated in the table below. The Restated Credit Agreement also contains provisions for an uncommitted increase of up to $275,000 principal amount of the Term B Loans subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. The revolving credit facility includes a sub-facility for the issuance of up to $70,000 of letters of credit and allows for liens in the form of cash collateralized letters of credit up to an additional $40,000. The obligations under the Restated Credit Agreement are secured by substantially all of the non-real estate assets and stock of Wendy’s and its domestic subsidiaries (other than certain unrestricted subsidiaries) and 65% of the stock of certain of its foreign subsidiaries in each case subject to certain limitations and exceptions.On September 24, 2013, Wendy’s entered into an amendment (the “Amendment”) to its Restated Credit Agreement to borrow an aggregate principal amount of up to $225,000 of additional Term A Loans (“Incremental Term Loans”). The Amendment does not contain any material changes to existing covenants or other terms of the Restated Credit Agreement, except as described in the preceding sentence. On October 24, 2013, Wendy’s borrowed $225,000 of Incremental Term Loans under the Amendment.The Term B Loans, Term A Loans and Incremental Term Loans (collectively, the “Term Loans”) are payable in quarterly installments which commenced on December 31, 2012, September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2013, respectively, with the remaining balances payable upon maturity. In addition, the Term Loans require prepayments of principal amounts resulting from certain events and excess cash flow on an annual basis from Wendy’s as defined under the Restated Credit Agreement. An excess cash flow payment was not required for fiscal 2014, 2013 or 2012. An unused commitment fee of 50 basis points per annum is payable quarterly on the average unused amount of the revolving credit facility until the maturity date. During the third quarter of 2013, Wendy’s transitioned the security for all of its outstanding letters of credit from the revolving credit facility to cash collateral. Therefore, as of December 28, 2014 and December 29, 2013, there were no amounts outstanding under the revolving credit facility. As of December 28, 2014, the Company had outstanding cash collateralized letters of credit with various parties of $16,843. The interest rates on Term A Loans and Term B Loans were 2.41% and 3.25%, respectively, as of December 28, 2014.During the year ended December 29, 2013, Wendy’s incurred $7,961 in costs related to the Restated Credit Agreement and the Amendment, which are being amortized to “Interest expense” through the maturity of the Term Loans utilizing the effective interest rate method. Proceeds from the Incremental Term Loans, plus cash on hand, were used to redeem all amounts outstanding on the aggregate principal amount of the Wendy’s 6.20% Senior Notes due in 2014 (the “6.20% Senior Notes”) at a price equal to 103.8%, as defined in the 6.20% Senior Notes and accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date. In connection with the redemption of the 6.20% Senior Notes, Wendy’s terminated the related interest rate swaps with notional amounts totaling $225,000 which had been designated as fair value hedges. See Note 11 for more information on the interest rate swaps. As a result, Wendy’s recognized a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of $7,544 during the fourth quarter of 2013 which consisted of (1) a premium payment, as defined in the 6.20% Senior Notes, (2) the remaining fair value adjustment previously recorded in connection with the Wendy’s merger, partially offset by (3) a benefit from the cumulative effect of our fair value hedges, as illustrated in the table below.During the year ended December 30, 2012, proceeds from the Term B Loans were used (1) to repay all amounts outstanding under the 2010 Term Loan, (2) to redeem the Wendy’s Restaurants 10.00% Senior Notes due 2016 (the “Senior Notes”) in the amounts of $440,775 aggregate principal at a redemption price of 107.5% of the principal amount in July 2012 and to purchase $124,225 aggregate principal at a purchase price of 108.125% of the principal amount in May 2012, both plus accrued and unpaid interest and (3) to pay substantially all of the Credit Agreement fees and expenses.As a result of the refinancings described above, the Company incurred losses on the early extinguishment of debt as follows: Year End 2013 2012Unaccreted discount on Term B Loans$9,561 $—Deferred costs associated with the Credit Agreement11,458 —Unaccreted fair value adjustment associated with the 6.20% Senior Notes3,168 —Benefit from cumulative effect of the fair value hedges(4,063) —Premium payment to redeem/purchase the 6.20% Senior Notes and the Senior Notes, respectively8,439 43,151Unaccreted discount on the Senior Notes— 9,272Deferred costs associated with the Senior Notes— 12,433Unaccreted discount on the 2010 Term Loan— 1,695Deferred costs associated with the 2010 Term Loan— 8,525Loss on early extinguishment of debt$28,563 $75,076The affirmative and negative covenants in the Restated Credit Agreement include, among others, preservation of corporate existence; payment of taxes; maintenance of insurance; and limitations on: indebtedness (including guarantee obligations of other indebtedness); liens; mergers, consolidations, liquidations and dissolutions; sales of assets; dividends and other payments in respect of capital stock; investments; payments of certain indebtedness; transactions with affiliates; changes in fiscal year; negative pledge clauses and clauses restricting subsidiary distributions; and material changes in lines of business. The financial covenants contained in the Restated Credit Agreement are (1) a consolidated interest coverage ratio and (2) a consolidated senior secured leverage ratio. Wendy’s was in compliance with the covenants of the Restated Credit Agreement as of December 28, 2014. The covenants generally do not restrict The Wendy’s Company or any of its subsidiaries that are not subsidiaries of Wendy’s.

[2] Wendy’s 7% debentures are unsecured and were reduced to fair value in connection with the Wendy’s merger based on their outstanding principal of $100,000 and an effective interest rate of 8.6%. The fair value adjustment is being accreted and the related charge included in “Interest expense” until the debentures mature. These debentures contain covenants that restrict the incurrence of indebtedness secured by liens and certain capitalized lease transactions. Wendy’s was in compliance with these covenants as of December 28, 2014.