Impairments (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Oct. 28, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 23, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 28, 2016 USD ($) restaurant	Oct. 23, 2015 USD ($) restaurant	Apr. 29, 2016 USD ($)
Impaired Long-Lived Assets Held and Used [Line Items]
Impairment charges	$ 523	$ 285	$ 523	$ 285
Assets held for sale	16,523	285	16,523	$ 285
Notes receivable, net	6,256		$ 6,256		$ 20,886
Nonoperating Restaurant
Impaired Long-Lived Assets Held and Used [Line Items]
Number of locations held for use | restaurant				2
Operating Restaurant
Impaired Long-Lived Assets Held and Used [Line Items]
Number of locations held for use | restaurant			1
Bob Evans Restaurants
Impaired Long-Lived Assets Held and Used [Line Items]
Assets held and used	523	147	$ 523	$ 147
Assets held for sale	0	$ 138	$ 0	$ 138
Bob Evans Restaurants | Nonoperating Restaurant
Impaired Long-Lived Assets Held and Used [Line Items]
Number of locations held for use | restaurant				1
Number of locations held for sale | restaurant				1
Bob Evans Restaurants | Operating Restaurant
Impaired Long-Lived Assets Held and Used [Line Items]
Number of locations held for use | restaurant			1
Mimi's Cafe
Impaired Long-Lived Assets Held and Used [Line Items]
Impairment charges	$ 16,000