Income Taxes (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 28, 2013	Apr. 29, 2012	Apr. 24, 2011
Current:
Federal		$ (415)	$ (725)
State	1,005	2,333	(483)
Total	1,005	1,918	(1,208)
Deferred:
Federal	3,888	15,628	4,818
State	1,839	(2,427)	3,340
Total	5,727	13,201	8,158
Income tax (benefit) provision	6,732	15,119	6,950
Statutory corporate federal tax rate (as a percent)	35.00%	35.00%	35.00%
Reconciliation of income taxes from continuing operations
Statutory tax (benefit) provision	(13,740)	(792)	3,740
Effects of :
State taxes, net of valuation allowance	733	(731)	2,303
Reduction of unrecognized tax benefits		(270)
Other
Lobbying	754	595	745
Employment tax credits	(681)	(1,095)	(588)
Fines & Penalties	205	58	81
Meals & Entertainment	73	64	74
Various permanent differences	62	(8)	28
Interest	161	(286)	423
Bahamas stock loss		(727)
Debt basis differential		4,529
Goodwill impairment	17,535	5,040
Valuation allowance	1,450	8,742
Other	180		144
Income tax (benefit) provision	6,732	15,119	6,950
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property and equipment	(50,835)	(51,713)
Goodwill and intangibles	(33,622)	(26,740)
Gain on early extinguishment of debt	(22,131)	(21,641)
Other	(1,161)	(2,859)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(107,749)	(102,953)
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating losses	80,370	36,244
Asset impairment		42,262
Employment tax credits	20,318	19,171
Accrued expenses	6,871	6,952
Alternative minimum tax credit	1,338	1,338
Other	13,750	15,771
Total deferred tax assets	122,647	121,738
Valuation allowance on deferred tax assets	(56,429)	(54,215)	(4,696)
Net deferred tax asset	66,218	67,523
Net deferred tax asset/(liability)	$ (41,531)	$ (35,430)
Period of cumulative loss	3 years