Basis Of Presentation (Notes)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis Of Presentation	Basis of Presentation Business Description. At March 31, 2019 Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. ("Carrols Restaurant Group") operated, as franchisee, 845 restaurants under the trade name “Burger King^®” in 18 Northeastern, Midwestern and Southeastern states. Basis of Consolidation. Carrols Restaurant Group is a holding company and conducts all of its operations through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Carrols Holdco Inc. ("Carrols Holdco") and Carrols Holdco's wholly-owned subsidiary, Carrols Corporation (“Carrols”) and Carrols' wholly-owned subsidiary, Carrols LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and Carrols LLC's wholly-owned subsidiary Republic Foods, Inc., a Maryland corporation ("Republic Foods"). The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements presented herein include the accounts of Carrols Restaurant Group and its wholly-owned subsidiary Carrols. Unless the context otherwise requires, Carrols Restaurant Group, Carrols Holdco, Carrols, Carrols LLC and Republic Foods, Inc. are collectively referred to as the “Company.” All intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Fiscal Year. The Company uses a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the Sunday closest to December 31. The three months ended March 31, 2019 and April 1, 2018 each contained thirteen weeks, respectively. The 2019 fiscal year will end December 29, 2019 and will contain 52 weeks. Basis of Presentation. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and April 1, 2018 have been prepared without an audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and do not include certain of the information and the footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all normal and recurring adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation of such unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been included. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and April 1, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2018. The December 30, 2018 consolidated balance sheet data is derived from those audited consolidated financial statements. Use of Estimates. The preparation of the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant items subject to such estimates include: accrued occupancy costs, insurance liabilities, evaluation for impairment of long-lived assets and franchise rights, lease accounting matters, the valuation of acquired assets and liabilities and the valuation of deferred income tax assets. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Segment Information. Operating segments are components of an entity for which separate financial information is available and is regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision maker in order to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company's chief operating decision maker currently evaluates the Company's operations from a number of different operational perspectives; however resource allocation decisions are determined based on the chief operating decision maker's evaluation of the total Company operations. The Company derives all significant revenues from a single operating segment. Accordingly, the Company views the operating results of its Burger King^® restaurants as one reportable segment. Business Combinations. In accordance with ASC 805, the Company allocates the purchase price of an acquired business to its net identifiable assets and liabilities based on the estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price over the amount allocated to the assets and liabilities, if any, is recorded as goodwill. The excess value of the net identifiable assets and liabilities acquired over the purchase price, if any, is recorded as a bargain purchase gain. The Company uses all available information to estimate fair values of identifiable intangible assets and property acquired. In making these determinations, the Company may engage an independent third party valuation specialist to assist with the valuation of certain leasehold improvements, franchise rights and favorable and unfavorable leases. The Company estimates that the seller's carrying value of acquired restaurant equipment, subject to certain adjustments, is equivalent to fair value of this equipment at the date of the acquisition. The fair values of assumed franchise agreements are valued as if the remaining term of the agreement is at the market rate. The fair values of acquired land, buildings, certain leasehold improvements and restaurant equipment subject to finance leases are determined using both the cost approach and market approach. The fair value of the favorable and unfavorable leases acquired, as well as the fair value of land, buildings, leasehold improvements and restaurant equipment subject to finance leases acquired is measured using significant inputs observable in the open market. The Company categorizes all such inputs as Level 2 inputs under ASC 820. The fair value of acquired franchise rights is primarily determined using the income approach, and unobservable inputs classified as Level 3 under ASC 820. Cash and Cash Equivalents. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. At December 30, 2018, the Company had $2.3 million invested in money market funds, which are classified as cash equivalents on the condensed consolidated balance sheet. Fair Value of Financial Instruments. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. In determining fair value, the accounting standards establish a three level hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value as follows: Level 1 inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; Level 2 inputs are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, including quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities; and Level 3 inputs are unobservable and reflect the Company's own assumptions. Financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables, accounts payable and long-term debt. The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables and accounts payable approximate fair value because of the short-term nature of these financial instruments. The fair value of the Carrols Restaurant Group 8.0% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2022 is based on a recent trading value, which is considered Level 2, and at March 31, 2019 and December 30, 2018 was approximately $280.5 million and $277.1 million, respectively. Fair value measurements of non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities are primarily used in the impairment analysis of long-lived assets, goodwill and intangible assets. Long-lived assets and definite-lived intangible assets are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis using Level 3 inputs. As described in Note 4, the Company recorded long-lived asset impairment charges of $0.9 million during the three months ended March 31, 2019 and $0.1 million during the three months ended April 1, 2018. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Adopted. The Company adopted Accounting Standards Update ("ASU")No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) on December 31, 2018, the first day of fiscal 2019. The new standard requires a lessee to recognize a liability for lease obligations, representing the discounted obligation to make minimum lease payments, and a corresponding right-of-use asset on the balance sheet for all leases with a term longer than 12 months. The Company elected the optional transition method to initially apply the new lease standard at the adoption date and not adjust its comparative period consolidated financial statements. The Company has elected the package of three practical expedients, which permits the Company not to reassess prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs. The Company has not elected the use-of-hindsight or the practical expedient in determining lease term or impairment of right-of-use assets. In addition, the Company has elected a short-term lease exemption policy that permits the Company to not apply the recognition requirements of the new lease standard to leases with a term of 12 months or less. The Company has also elected an accounting policy to not separate lease and non-lease components for certain classes of leases. Adoption of this ASU resulted in recognition of additional net lease assets of approximately $517.6 million and net lease liabilities of approximately $542.9 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2018 based on the present value of remaining minimum rental payments and corresponding right-of-use assets based upon the operating lease liabilities adjusted for prepaid and deferred non-level rents, unamortized lease acquisition costs and unamortized favorable and unfavorable lease balances. The Company has recognized a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings of approximately $7.5 million, net of the deferred tax impact, on the date of adoption, to eliminate the historical deferred gains on qualified sale-leaseback transactions. The standard did not materially impact the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. Recently Issued Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted. In January 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This ASU simplifies the accounting for goodwill by eliminating step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Under the new ASU, if the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss will be recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds its fair value. This update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company believes that this pronouncement will have no impact on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

Basis of Presentation

Business Description. At March 31, 2019 Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. ("Carrols Restaurant Group") operated, as franchisee, 845 restaurants under the trade name “Burger King^®” in 18 Northeastern, Midwestern and Southeastern states.

Basis of Consolidation. Carrols Restaurant Group is a holding company and conducts all of its operations through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Carrols Holdco Inc. ("Carrols Holdco") and Carrols Holdco's wholly-owned subsidiary, Carrols Corporation (“Carrols”) and Carrols' wholly-owned subsidiary, Carrols LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and Carrols LLC's wholly-owned subsidiary Republic Foods, Inc., a Maryland corporation ("Republic Foods"). The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements presented herein include the accounts of Carrols Restaurant Group and its wholly-owned subsidiary Carrols.

Unless the context otherwise requires, Carrols Restaurant Group, Carrols Holdco, Carrols, Carrols LLC and Republic Foods, Inc. are collectively referred to as the “Company.” All intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Fiscal Year. The Company uses a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the Sunday closest to December 31. The three months ended March 31, 2019 and April 1, 2018 each contained thirteen weeks, respectively. The 2019 fiscal year will end December 29, 2019 and will contain 52 weeks.

Basis of Presentation. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and April 1, 2018 have been prepared without an audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and do not include certain of the information and the footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all normal and recurring adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation of such unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been included. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and April 1, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2018. The December 30, 2018 consolidated balance sheet data is derived from those audited consolidated financial statements.

Use of Estimates. The preparation of the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant items subject to such estimates include: accrued occupancy costs, insurance liabilities, evaluation for impairment of long-lived assets and franchise rights, lease accounting matters, the valuation of acquired assets and liabilities and the valuation of deferred income tax assets. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Segment Information. Operating segments are components of an entity for which separate financial information is available and is regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision maker in order to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company's chief operating decision maker currently evaluates the Company's operations from a number of different operational perspectives; however resource allocation decisions are determined based on the chief operating decision maker's evaluation of the total Company operations. The Company derives all significant revenues from a single operating segment. Accordingly, the Company views the operating results of its Burger King^® restaurants as one reportable segment.

Business Combinations. In accordance with ASC 805, the Company allocates the purchase price of an acquired business to its net identifiable assets and liabilities based on the estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price over the amount allocated to the assets and liabilities, if any, is recorded as goodwill. The excess value of the net identifiable assets and liabilities acquired over the purchase price, if any, is recorded as a bargain purchase gain. The Company uses all available information to estimate fair values of identifiable intangible assets and property acquired. In making these determinations, the Company may engage an independent third party valuation specialist to assist with the valuation of certain leasehold improvements, franchise rights and favorable and unfavorable leases.

The Company estimates that the seller's carrying value of acquired restaurant equipment, subject to certain adjustments, is equivalent to fair value of this equipment at the date of the acquisition. The fair values of assumed franchise agreements are valued as if the remaining term of the agreement is at the market rate. The fair values of acquired land, buildings, certain leasehold improvements and restaurant equipment subject to finance leases are determined using both the cost approach and market approach. The fair value of the favorable and unfavorable leases acquired, as well as the fair value of land, buildings, leasehold improvements and restaurant equipment subject to finance leases acquired is measured using significant inputs observable in the open market. The Company categorizes all such inputs as Level 2 inputs under ASC 820. The fair value of acquired franchise rights is primarily determined using the income approach, and unobservable inputs classified as Level 3 under ASC 820.

Cash and Cash Equivalents. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. At December 30, 2018, the Company had $2.3 million invested in money market funds, which are classified as cash equivalents on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. In determining fair value, the accounting standards establish a three level hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value as follows: Level 1 inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; Level 2 inputs are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, including quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities; and Level 3 inputs are unobservable and reflect the Company's own assumptions. Financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables, accounts payable and long-term debt. The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables and accounts payable approximate fair value because of the short-term nature of these financial instruments. The fair value of the Carrols Restaurant Group 8.0% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2022 is based on a recent trading value, which is considered Level 2, and at March 31, 2019 and December 30, 2018 was approximately $280.5 million and $277.1 million, respectively.

Fair value measurements of non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities are primarily used in the impairment analysis of long-lived assets, goodwill and intangible assets. Long-lived assets and definite-lived intangible assets are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis using Level 3 inputs. As described in Note 4, the Company recorded long-lived asset impairment charges of $0.9 million during the three months ended March 31, 2019 and $0.1 million during the three months ended April 1, 2018.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Adopted. The Company adopted Accounting Standards Update ("ASU")No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) on December 31, 2018, the first day of fiscal 2019. The new standard requires a lessee to recognize a liability for lease obligations, representing the discounted obligation to make minimum lease payments, and a corresponding right-of-use asset on the balance sheet for all leases with a term longer than 12 months.

The Company elected the optional transition method to initially apply the new lease standard at the adoption date and not adjust its comparative period consolidated financial statements. The Company has elected the package of three practical expedients, which permits the Company not to reassess prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs. The Company has not elected the use-of-hindsight or the practical expedient in determining lease term or impairment of right-of-use assets. In addition, the Company has elected a short-term lease exemption policy that permits the Company to not apply the recognition requirements of the new lease standard to leases with a term of 12 months or less. The Company has also elected an accounting policy to not separate lease and non-lease components for certain classes of leases.

Adoption of this ASU resulted in recognition of additional net lease assets of approximately $517.6 million and net lease liabilities of approximately $542.9 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2018 based on the present value of remaining minimum rental payments and corresponding right-of-use assets based upon the operating lease liabilities adjusted for prepaid and deferred non-level rents, unamortized lease acquisition costs and unamortized favorable and unfavorable lease balances. The Company has recognized a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings of approximately $7.5 million, net of the deferred tax impact, on the date of adoption, to eliminate the historical deferred gains on qualified sale-leaseback transactions. The standard did not materially impact the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted. In January 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This ASU simplifies the accounting for goodwill by eliminating step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Under the new ASU, if the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss will be recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds its fair value. This update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company believes that this pronouncement will have no impact on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.