Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	9 Months Ended
Jan. 25, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements: The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (“Bob Evans”) and its subsidiaries (collectively, Bob Evans and its subsidiaries are referred to as the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our”) are presented in accordance with the requirements of Form 10-Q and, consequently, do not include all of the disclosures normally required by generally accepted accounting principles or those normally made in our Form 10-K filing. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of our financial position and results of operations have been included. The consolidated financial statements are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for a full fiscal year. Except as described in this Form 10-Q, no significant changes have occurred in the financial disclosures made in our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 27, 2012 (refer to the Form 10-K for a summary of significant accounting policies followed in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements). Throughout the Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, dollars are in thousands, except per share amounts. Property, Plant and Equipment: We evaluate property, plant and equipment held and used in the business for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of a long-lived asset may not be recoverable. Impairment is determined by comparing the estimated fair value for the asset group to the carrying amount of its assets. If impairment exists, the amount of impairment is measured as the excess of the carrying amount over the estimated fair value of the assets. Generally, the estimated fair value is determined based on appraisals, which we deem to be Level 3 inputs under the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820. See Note 11 for further information. Based on our definitive agreement to sell Mimi's Café for $50,000, we determined indicators of impairment existed during the third quarter of fiscal 2013. See Note 9 for further information. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets: Goodwill, which represents the cost in excess of fair market value of net assets acquired, was $19,809 and $1,567 as of January 25, 2013 and April 27, 2012, respectively. Other intangible assets were $4,022 as of January 25, 2013, excluding assets held for sale, and consisted of the Kettle Creations intangible asset. Excluding assets held for sale, there were no intangible assets as of April 27, 2012. Goodwill and the trade name intangible assets are deemed to have an indefinite economic life and are not amortized; rather they are tested for impairment at the beginning of the third quarter each year or on a more frequent basis when events occur or circumstances change between the annual tests that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of the reporting unit below its carrying value. The restaurant concept intangible asset is amortized on a straight-line basis over its estimated economic life of 15 years. As a result of our definitive agreement to sell Mimi's Café and its current held for sale status, amortization of the restaurant concept intangible asset has ceased. Business Combinations: Business combinations are recognized in the consolidated financial statements from the time of acquisition and for the part of the fiscal year during which the companies are owned by Bob Evans. Comparative amounts are not adjusted to reflect acquisitions. Business combinations are accounted for using the purchase method, according to which the identifiable assets and liabilities are measured at fair value at the date of acquisition. Provision is made for costs related to the adopted and announced plans to restructure the acquired company in connection with the acquisition. The tax effect of the fair value of adjustments on assets and liabilities is taken into account. Any excess of the cost of the acquired company over the fair value of the assets and liabilities is recognized as goodwill. Goodwill is not amortized, but is tested for impairment annually, or when indicators for impairment are present. Earnings Per Share: Basic earnings-per-share computations are based on the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period presented. Diluted earnings-per-share calculations reflect the assumed exercise and conversion of employee stock options. The numerator in calculating both basic and diluted earnings per share for each period was reported net income. The denominator was based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. See Note 4. Stock-Based Compensation: We account for stock-based compensation in accordance with the Compensation-Stock Compensation Topic of the FASB ASC 718. Accordingly, stock-based compensation awards are measured on the fair value of the award on the grant date and are recognized over the vesting period of the award on a straight-line basis. Industry Segments: We have three reportable segments: Bob Evans Restaurants, Mimi's Café and BEF Foods. See Note 6 for detailed segment information. Effective January 28, 2013, we entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of our Mimi's Café operating segment to Le Duff America, Inc. Effective February 15, 2013, we completed the sale of Mimi's Café to Le Duff America, Inc. See Note 14 for further information. Long-term Investments: Long-term investments include assets held under certain deferred compensation arrangements, which represent the cash surrender value of company-owned life insurance policies and investments in income tax credit limited partnerships. An offsetting liability for the amount of the cash surrender value of company-owned life insurance is included in the deferred compensation liability amount on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Financial Instruments: The fair value of our financial instruments (other than long-term debt) approximated their carrying value at January 25, 2013. We estimated the fair value of our long-term debt based on the current interest rates offered for debt of the same maturities. See Note 11. We do not use derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes. Commitments and Contingencies: We rent certain restaurant facilities under operating leases having initial terms that primarily expire approximately 20 years from inception. The leases typically contain renewal clauses of five to 30 years exercisable at our option. Certain of these leases require the payment of contingent rentals based on a percentage of gross revenues, as defined by the terms of the applicable lease agreement. Most of the leases also contain either fixed or inflation-adjusted escalation clauses. We are self-insured for most casualty losses and employee health-care claims up to certain stop-loss limits per claim. We have accounted for liabilities of casualty losses, including both reported claims and incurred but not reported claims, based on information provided by independent actuaries. We have accounted for our employee health-care claims liability through a review of incurred and paid claims history. We do not believe that our calculation of casualty losses and employee health-care claims liabilities would change materially under different conditions and/or different methods. However, due to the inherent volatility of actuarially determined casualty losses and employee health-care claims, it is reasonably possible that we could experience changes in estimated losses, which could be material to quarterly net income. New Accounting Standard: In July 2012, the FASB issued an update to existing guidance related to impairment testing for indefinite-lived intangible assets. The amendments will allow an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test. An entity no longer will be required to test the fair value of an intangible asset unless the entity determines, based on a qualitative assessment, that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. This update is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after September 15, 2012, and is not anticipated to affect our consolidated financial statements.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Jan. 25, 2013

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements: The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (“Bob Evans”) and its subsidiaries (collectively, Bob Evans and its subsidiaries are referred to as the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our”) are presented in accordance with the requirements of Form 10-Q and, consequently, do not include all of the disclosures normally required by generally accepted accounting principles or those normally made in our Form 10-K filing. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of our financial position and results of operations have been included. The consolidated financial statements are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for a full fiscal year. Except as described in this Form 10-Q, no significant changes have occurred in the financial disclosures made in our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 27, 2012 (refer to the Form 10-K for a summary of significant accounting policies followed in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements). Throughout the Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, dollars are in thousands, except per share amounts.

Property, Plant and Equipment: We evaluate property, plant and equipment held and used in the business for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of a long-lived asset may not be recoverable. Impairment is determined by comparing the estimated fair value for the asset group to the carrying amount of its assets. If impairment exists, the amount of impairment is measured as the excess of the carrying amount over the estimated fair value of the assets. Generally, the estimated fair value is determined based on appraisals, which we deem to be Level 3 inputs under the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820. See Note 11 for further information.

Based on our definitive agreement to sell Mimi's Café for $50,000, we determined indicators of impairment existed during the third quarter of fiscal 2013. See Note 9 for further information.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets: Goodwill, which represents the cost in excess of fair market value of net assets acquired, was $19,809 and $1,567 as of January 25, 2013 and April 27, 2012, respectively. Other intangible assets were $4,022 as of January 25, 2013, excluding assets held for sale, and consisted of the Kettle Creations intangible asset. Excluding assets held for sale, there were no intangible assets as of April 27, 2012. Goodwill and the trade name intangible assets are deemed to have an indefinite economic life and are not amortized; rather they are tested for impairment at the beginning of the third quarter each year or on a more frequent basis when events occur or circumstances change between the annual tests that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of the reporting unit below its carrying value. The restaurant concept intangible asset is amortized on a straight-line basis over its estimated economic life of 15 years. As a result of our definitive agreement to sell Mimi's Café and its current held for sale status, amortization of the restaurant concept intangible asset has ceased.

Business Combinations: Business combinations are recognized in the consolidated financial statements from the time of acquisition and for the part of the fiscal year during which the companies are owned by Bob Evans. Comparative amounts are not adjusted to reflect acquisitions. Business combinations are accounted for using the purchase method, according to which the identifiable assets and liabilities are measured at fair value at the date of acquisition. Provision is made for costs related to the adopted and announced plans to restructure the acquired company in connection with the acquisition. The tax effect of the fair value of adjustments on assets and liabilities is taken into account. Any excess of the cost of the acquired company over the fair value of the assets and liabilities is recognized as goodwill. Goodwill is not amortized, but is tested for impairment annually, or when indicators for impairment are present.

Earnings Per Share: Basic earnings-per-share computations are based on the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period presented. Diluted earnings-per-share calculations reflect the assumed exercise and conversion of employee stock options.

The numerator in calculating both basic and diluted earnings per share for each period was reported net income. The denominator was based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. See Note 4.

Stock-Based Compensation: We account for stock-based compensation in accordance with the Compensation-Stock Compensation Topic of the FASB ASC 718. Accordingly, stock-based compensation awards are measured on the fair value of the award on the grant date and are recognized over the vesting period of the award on a straight-line basis.

Industry Segments: We have three reportable segments: Bob Evans Restaurants, Mimi's Café and BEF Foods. See Note 6 for detailed segment information. Effective January 28, 2013, we entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of our Mimi's Café operating segment to Le Duff America, Inc. Effective February 15, 2013, we completed the sale of Mimi's Café to Le Duff America, Inc. See Note 14 for further information.

Long-term Investments: Long-term investments include assets held under certain deferred compensation arrangements, which represent the cash surrender value of company-owned life insurance policies and investments in income tax credit limited partnerships. An offsetting liability for the amount of the cash surrender value of company-owned life insurance is included in the deferred compensation liability amount on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Financial Instruments: The fair value of our financial instruments (other than long-term debt) approximated their carrying value at January 25, 2013. We estimated the fair value of our long-term debt based on the current interest rates offered for debt of the same maturities. See Note 11. We do not use derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes.

Commitments and Contingencies: We rent certain restaurant facilities under operating leases having initial terms that primarily expire approximately 20 years from inception. The leases typically contain renewal clauses of five to 30 years exercisable at our option. Certain of these leases require the payment of contingent rentals based on a percentage of gross revenues, as defined by the terms of the applicable lease agreement. Most of the leases also contain either fixed or inflation-adjusted escalation clauses.

We are self-insured for most casualty losses and employee health-care claims up to certain stop-loss limits per claim. We have accounted for liabilities of casualty losses, including both reported claims and incurred but not reported claims, based on information provided by independent actuaries. We have accounted for our employee health-care claims liability through a review of incurred and paid claims history. We do not believe that our calculation of casualty losses and employee health-care claims liabilities would change materially under different conditions and/or different methods. However, due to the inherent volatility of actuarially determined casualty losses and employee health-care claims, it is reasonably possible that we could experience changes in estimated losses, which could be material to quarterly net income.

New Accounting Standard: In July 2012, the FASB issued an update to existing guidance related to impairment testing for indefinite-lived intangible assets. The amendments will allow an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test. An entity no longer will be required to test the fair value of an intangible asset unless the entity determines, based on a qualitative assessment, that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. This update is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after September 15, 2012, and is not anticipated to affect our consolidated financial statements.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for all significant accounting policies of the reporting entity.

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