ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Disclosure Text Block Supplement [Abstract]

Accounts Payable, Accrued Liabilities, and Other Liabilities Disclosure, Current [Text Block]

8. ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consist of the following:

	September 30, 2017		October 1, 2016
	(In thousands)
Sales tax payable	$	813	$	942
Accrued wages and payroll related costs		2,475		2,495
Customer advance deposits		4,186		4,077
Accrued occupancy and other operating expenses		2,702		3,041
	$	10,176	$	10,555

Two subsidiaries of the Company (“the Ark Subsidiaries”), which operate food courts on Federally protected Indian land, had been involved in litigation with the state in which they operate, whereby the state attempted to collect commercial rent tax from the Ark Subsidiaries. The Company had continued to accrue such taxes as the litigation worked its way through the courts. During July 2016, the state agreed to the entry of consent judgments in favor of the Ark Subsidiaries holding that the state is constitutionally prohibited from taxing rentals of Indian land. In connection with this agreement, the Company reversed the accrual of these liabilities in the amount of $945,000 during the three months ended July 2, 2016. In addition, the Company received a refund of previously paid amounts in the amount of $157,000 in August 2016 related to the above matter. Such amounts are included in the Consolidated Statement of Income for the year ended October 1, 2016 as a reduction of Occupancy Expenses.