Impairment and other charges, net (Details) $ in Thousands		4 Months Ended
		Jan. 22, 2017 USD ($) restaurant	Jan. 17, 2016 USD ($)
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		$ 2,048	$ 0
Costs of closed restaurants (primarily lease obligations) and other		1,997	560
Losses (gains) on the disposition of property and equipment, net		699	651
accelerated depreciation		313	446
Impairment and other charges, net		5,057	$ 1,657
Other Restructuring [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs	[1]	369
Employee Severance [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		477
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Balance at beginning of period		4,198
Additions		477
Cash payments		(3,568)
Balance at end of period		1,107
Facility Closing [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		1,202
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Balance at beginning of period		7,231
Cash payments		(1,122)
Balance at end of period	[2],[3]	7,214
Other Accrued Liabilities		2,600
Shared Services [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		100
Jack in the box brand restaurant operations [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		$ 100
Jack in the box brand restaurant operations [Member] | accelerated depreciation [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Number of Restaurants | restaurant		2
Qdoba brand restaurant operations [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		$ 1,800
Qdoba brand restaurant operations [Member] | accelerated depreciation [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Number of Restaurants | restaurant		3
Impairment and other charges, net [Member] | Facility Closing [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Restructuring costs	[4]	$ 742
Interest Expense [Member] | Facility Closing [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Restructuring costs		$ 363
Weighted Average [Member] | Facility Closing [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
WeightedAverageRemainingLeaseTermCommitments		4 years

[1] (1)Other primarily represents moving expenses related to the relocation of our Qdoba corporate support center and early lease termination costs.

[2] (2)The weighted average remaining lease term related to these commitments is approximately four years.

[3] (3)This balance excludes $2.6 million of restaurant closing costs that are included in accrued liabilities and other long-term liabilities, which were initially recorded as losses on the sale of company-operated restaurants upon sale to Jack in the Box franchisees in prior years.

[4] (1)Adjustments relate primarily to revisions of certain sublease and cost assumptions. Our estimates related to our future lease obligations, primarily the sublease income we anticipate, are subject to a high degree of judgment and may differ from actual sublease income due to changes in economic conditions, desirability of the sites and other factors.