Leases (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 03, 2012 property	Feb. 26, 2011	Feb. 27, 2010 property
Leases
Net of sublease income	$ 8,866	$ 9,662	$ 11,027
Total rental expense	976,892	965,665	961,519
Contingent rental	22,659	23,336	27,260
Number of operating stores sold	2		3
Proceeds from sale of owned properties	6,038		7,967
Loss on sale of assets	3,896
Deferred gain on sale of stores			$ 5,301
Minimum
Leases
Initial lease terms under noncancellable operating and capital leases (in years)	5
Initial terms of noncancellable operating lease (in years)	3
Sale leaseback minimum lease terms (in years)	7 Y		10 Y
Maximum
Leases
Initial lease terms under noncancellable operating and capital leases (in years)	22
Initial terms of noncancellable operating lease (in years)	22
Sale leaseback minimum lease terms (in years)	10 Y		20 Y