Schedule of Income Statement - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 24, 2014	Sep. 25, 2013
Parent Company
Income items:
Dividends	$ 150	$ 0	$ 17,725	$ 32,223	$ 0
Undistributed (loss) earnings	23,206	8,678	(25,357)	(5,009)	29,777
Total	23,356	8,678	(7,632)	27,214	29,777
Costs and expense items:
General and administrative	1,815	3,269	13,731	8,522	19,685
Other income (loss):
Other income	8	5	9	19	5,220
Investment gains (including contributions)	0	0	0	0	162,300
Investment partnership (losses) gains	110,268	20,457	(8,845)	6,749	20,068
Gain on sale of Biglari Capital Corp	0	0	0	0	1,597
Total other income (loss)	110,276	20,462	(8,845)	6,768	189,185
Earnings (loss) before income taxes	131,817	25,871	(30,199)	25,460	199,277
Income taxes	40,767	6,922	(14,356)	(3,344)	59,006
Net earnings (loss)	$ 91,050	$ 18,949	$ (15,843)	$ 28,804	$ 140,271