Impairment Of Long-Lived Assets And Other Lease Charges

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Impairment Of Long-Lived Assets And Other Lease Charges [Abstract]

Impairment Of Long-Lived Assets And Other Lease Charges

4. Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Other Lease Charges

The Company reviews its long-lived assets, principally property and equipment, for impairment at the restaurant level. If an indicator of impairment exists for any of its assets, an estimate of undiscounted future cash flows over the life of the primary asset for each restaurant is compared to that long-lived asset's carrying value. If the carrying value is greater than the undiscounted cash flow, the Company then determines the fair value of the asset and if an asset is determined to be impaired, the loss is measured by the excess of the carrying amount of the asset over its fair value plus any lease liabilities to be incurred for non-operating restaurants, net of any estimated sublease recoveries.

The Company determined the fair value of restaurant equipment, for those restaurants reviewed for impairment, based on current economic conditions and the Company's history of using these assets in the operation of its business. These fair value asset measurements rely on significant unobservable inputs and are considered Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. The Level 3 assets measured at fair value associated with impairment charges recorded in 2011 totaled $0.2 million at December 31, 2011.

Impairment and other lease charges recorded on long-lived assets for the Company's segments were as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
Burger King	$	1,293	$	709	$	487
Pollo Tropical		2,457		4,671		2,152
Taco Cabana		287		1,943		132
	$	4,037	$	7,323	$	2,771

During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company recorded other lease charges of $1.2 million associated with five closed Pollo Tropical restaurants and $0.2 million of lease charges for two closed Taco Cabana restaurants. The Company also recorded impairment charges of $1.3 million for certain underperforming Burger King restaurants and $1.3 million for an underperforming Pollo Tropical restaurant.

During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company recorded impairment and other lease charges of $7.3 million which included impairment charges of $3.9 million for four underperforming Pollo Tropical restaurants, $1.4 million for two underperforming Taco Cabana restaurants and $0.7 million for certain Burger King restaurants. The Company also recorded other lease charges of $0.7 million for non-operating Pollo Tropical properties and $0.5 million in charges for non-operating Taco Cabana restaurant properties.

The Company closed one Pollo Tropical restaurant in 2009 whose fixed assets were impaired in 2008, and recorded a lease charge of $0.3 million in 2009. During 2009, the Company also recorded impairment charges of $1.9 million associated with an underperforming Pollo Tropical restaurant and $0.4 million associated with two underperforming Burger King restaurants.