Fiesta Restaurant (FRGI) 10-K 26 Feb 19 2018 FY Annual report Financial data

Document and Entity Information

Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Feb. 20, 2019	Jul. 01, 2018
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	FIESTA RESTAURANT GROUP, INC.
Entity Central Index Key	1,534,992
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-30
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 30, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2,018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		27,234,451
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 675,651,497
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Shell Company	false

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Current assets:
Cash	$ 5,258	$ 3,599
Accounts receivable	8,505	9,830
Inventories	2,842	2,880
Prepaid rent	3,375	3,300
Income tax receivable	17,857	11,334
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	6,562	10,105
Total current assets	44,399	41,048
Property and equipment, net	231,328	234,561
Goodwill	123,484	123,484
Deferred income taxes	10,383	17,232
Other assets	9,065	6,988
Total assets	418,659	423,313
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt	108	98
Accounts payable	16,410	20,293
Accrued payroll, related taxes and benefits	10,086	11,776
Accrued real estate taxes	5,871	5,860
Other current liabilities	14,086	21,817
Total current liabilities	46,561	59,844
Long-term debt, net of current portion	79,636	76,425
Deferred income—sale-leaseback of real estate	19,899	23,466
Other non-current liabilities	32,504	32,062
Total liabilities	178,600	191,797
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued	0	0
Common stock, $0.01 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized, 27,259,212 and 27,086,958 shares issued, respectively, and 26,858,988 and 26,847,458 shares outstanding, respectively	270	268
Additional paid-in capital	170,290	166,823
Retained earnings	72,268	64,425
Treasury stock, at cost; 112,358 shares	(2,769)	0
Total stockholders' equity	240,059	231,516
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 418,659	$ 423,313

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Pa

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Preferred stock, par value (usd per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized	20,000,000	20,000,000
Common stock, par value (usd per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	100,000,000	100,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	27,259,212	27,086,958
Common stock, shares outstanding	26,858,988	26,847,458
Treasury stock, shares	112,358

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPER

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Revenues:
Revenues	$ 688,597	$ 669,132	$ 711,770
Costs and expenses:
Cost of sales	218,946	202,888	214,609
Restaurant wages and related expenses (including stock-based compensation expense of $90, $52, and $142, respectively)	188,131	184,742	185,305
Restaurant rent expense	36,034	36,936	37,493
Other restaurant operating expenses	100,828	98,927	96,457
Advertising expense	23,695	26,091	26,800
General and administrative (including stock-based compensation expense of $3,379, $3,493, and $3,141, respectively)	54,525	59,633	54,826
Depreciation and amortization	37,604	34,957	36,776
Pre-opening costs	1,716	2,118	5,511
Impairment and other lease charges	21,144	61,760	25,644
Other expense (income), net	(3,007)	2,190	1,130
Total operating expenses	679,616	710,242	684,551
Income (loss) from operations	8,981	(41,110)	27,219
Interest expense	3,966	2,877	2,171
Income (loss) before income taxes	5,015	(43,987)	25,048
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	(2,772)	(7,755)	8,336
Net income (loss)	$ 7,787	$ (36,232)	$ 16,712
Earnings (loss) per common share:
Basic (usd per share)	$ 0.29	$ (1.35)	$ 0.62
Diluted (usd per share)	$ 0.29	$ (1.35)	$ 0.62
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	26,890,577	26,821,471	26,682,227
Diluted (in shares)	26,894,083	26,821,471	26,689,179
Restaurant sales
Revenues:
Revenues	$ 685,925	$ 666,584	$ 708,956
Franchise royalty revenues and fees
Revenues:
Revenues	$ 2,672	$ 2,548	$ 2,814

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OP_2

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Stock-based compensation	$ 3,500	$ 3,500	$ 3,300
Restaurant Wages And Related Expenses
Stock-based compensation	90	52	142
General and Administrative Expense
Stock-based compensation	$ 3,379	$ 3,493	$ 3,141

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHAN

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total	Common Stock	Additional Paid-In Capital	Retained Earnings	Treasury Stock
Beginning balance at Jan. 03, 2016	$ 243,982	$ 266	$ 159,724	$ 83,992
Beginning balance (in shares) at Jan. 03, 2016	26,571,602
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity
Stock-based compensation	$ 3,283		3,283
Vesting of restricted shares (in shares)	184,038
Vesting of restricted shares	$ 0	1	(1)
Tax benefit from stock-based compensation	198		198
Net income (loss)	$ 16,712			16,712
Ending balance (in shares) at Jan. 01, 2017	26,755,640
Ending balance at Jan. 01, 2017	$ 264,175	267	163,204	100,704
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity
Stock-based compensation	$ 3,545		3,545
Vesting of restricted shares (in shares)	91,818
Vesting of restricted shares	$ 1	1	0
Cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting standard	27		74	(47)
Net income (loss)	$ (36,232)			(36,232)
Ending balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2017	26,847,458
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2017	$ 231,516	268	166,823	64,425	$ 0
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity
Stock-based compensation	$ 3,469		3,469
Vesting of restricted shares (in shares)	123,888
Vesting of restricted shares	$ 0	2	(2)
Cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting standard	$ 56			56
Purchase of treasury stock (in shares)	(112,358)
Purchase of treasury stock	$ (2,769)				(2,769)
Net income (loss)	$ 7,787			7,787
Ending balance (in shares) at Dec. 30, 2018	26,858,988
Ending balance at Dec. 30, 2018	$ 240,059	$ 270	$ 170,290	$ 72,268	$ (2,769)

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Operating activities:
Net income (loss)	$ 7,787	$ (36,232)	$ 16,712
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:
(Gain) loss on disposals of property and equipment	(757)	815	779
Stock-based compensation	3,469	3,545	3,283
Impairment and other lease charges	21,144	61,760	25,644
Depreciation and amortization	37,604	34,957	36,776
Amortization of deferred financing costs	270	352	309
Amortization of deferred gains from sale-leaseback transactions	(3,564)	(3,602)	(3,583)
Deferred income taxes	6,830	(2,828)	(5,880)
Other	0	0	1
Changes in other operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	805	(1,171)	446
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	894	(2,015)	(412)
Other assets - long term	(1,491)	(552)	(2,796)
Accounts payable	(1,797)	1,046	3,330
Accrued payroll, related taxes and benefits	(1,690)	(499)	(3,339)
Accrued real estate taxes	11	(311)	803
Other liabilities - current	(10,583)	(590)	(780)
Other liabilities - long term	1,358	3,887	6,498
Income tax receivable/payable	(6,523)	(8,030)	4,144
Other	36	288	(1,256)
Net cash provided by operating activities	53,803	50,820	80,679
Capital expenditures:
New restaurant development	(21,445)	(26,727)	(66,116)
Restaurant remodeling	(582)	(3,020)	(2,755)
Other restaurant capital expenditures	(27,464)	(17,410)	(7,125)
Corporate and restaurant information systems	(8,359)	(8,709)	(6,369)
Total capital expenditures	(57,850)	(55,866)	(82,365)
Properties purchased for sale-leaseback	0	0	(2,663)
Proceeds from disposals of properties	4,743	374	226
Proceeds from insurance recoveries	983	0	0
Proceeds from sale-leaseback transactions	0	0	3,642
Net cash used in investing activities	(52,124)	(55,492)	(81,160)
Financing activities:
Excess tax benefit from vesting of restricted shares	0	0	566
Borrowings on revolving credit facility	26,000	91,000	18,400
Repayments on revolving credit facility	(23,000)	(85,900)	(19,500)
Principal payments on capital leases	(101)	(88)	(70)
Financing costs associated with issuance of debt	(150)	(937)	0
Payments to purchase treasury stock	(2,769)	0	0
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	(20)	4,075	(604)
Net change in cash	1,659	(597)	(1,085)
Cash, beginning of year	3,599	4,196	5,281
Cash, end of year	5,258	3,599	4,196
Supplemental disclosures:
Interest paid on long-term debt (including capitalized interest of $377, $256 and $255, respectively)	3,508	2,363	1,867
Interest paid on lease financing obligations	0	83	141
Accruals for capital expenditures	6,191	8,409	5,288
Income tax payments (refunds), net	(3,081)	3,103	9,873
Capital lease obligations incurred	322	0	0
Non-cash reduction of lease financing obligations	0	1,664	0
Non-cash reduction of assets under lease financing obligations	$ 0	$ 1,193	$ 0

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CA_2

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Statement of Cash Flows [Abstract]
Capitalized interest	$ 377	$ 256	$ 255

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation Business Description. Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. ("Fiesta Restaurant Group" or "Fiesta") owns, operates and franchises two fast-casual restaurant brands through its wholly-owned subsidiaries Pollo Operations, Inc., and its subsidiaries, and Pollo Franchise, Inc., (collectively "Pollo Tropical") and Taco Cabana, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively "Taco Cabana"). Unless the context otherwise requires, Fiesta and its subsidiaries, Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana, are collectively referred to as the "Company." At December 30, 2018 , the Company owned and operated 139 Pollo Tropical ® restaurants and 162 Taco Cabana ® restaurants. All of the Company-owned Pollo Tropical restaurants are located in Florida, and all of the Company-owned Taco Cabana restaurants are located in Texas. At December 30, 2018 , Fiesta franchised a total of 30 Pollo Tropical restaurants and eight Taco Cabana restaurants. The franchised Pollo Tropical restaurants include 17 in Puerto Rico, four in Panama, two in Guyana, one in the Bahamas and five on college campuses and one at a hospital in Florida. The franchised Taco Cabana restaurants include six in New Mexico and two on college campuses in Texas. Basis of Consolidation. The consolidated financial statements presented herein reflect the consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows of Fiesta and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. 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 fiscal years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 each contained 52 weeks. Use of Estimates . The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") 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 financial statements. Estimates also affect the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting periods. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include: accrued occupancy costs, insurance liabilities, evaluation for impairment of goodwill and long-lived assets and lease accounting matters. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Reclassification . Write-offs of site development costs were reclassified from general and administrative expense to other expense (income), net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations to conform with the current year presentation. Concentrations of Risk. Food and supplies are ordered from approved suppliers and are shipped to the restaurants via distributors. Performance Food Group, Inc. is the primary distributor of food and beverage products and supplies for both Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana. In the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , Performance Food Group, Inc. accounted for approximately 74% of the supplies delivered to restaurants. The Company's limited distributor relationships could have an adverse effect on the Company's operations. 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. Inventories. Inventories, primarily consisting of food and paper, are stated at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out) or market. Property and Equipment. The Company capitalizes all direct costs incurred to construct and substantially improve its restaurants. These costs are depreciated and charged to expense based upon their property classification when placed in service. Property and equipment is recorded at cost. Application development stage costs for significant internally developed software projects are capitalized and amortized. Repairs and maintenance activities are expensed as incurred. Depreciation and amortization is provided using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives: Buildings and improvements 5 to 30 years Equipment 3 to 7 years Computer hardware and software 3 to 7 years Assets subject to capital lease Shorter of useful life or lease term Leasehold improvements, including new buildings constructed on leased land, are depreciated over the shorter of their estimated useful lives or the underlying lease term. In circumstances where an economic penalty would be presumed by the non-exercise of one or more renewal options under the lease, the Company includes those renewal option periods when determining the lease term. For significant leasehold improvements made during the latter part of the lease term, the Company amortizes those improvements over the shorter of their useful life or an extended lease term. The extended lease term would consider the exercise of renewal options if the value of the improvements would imply that an economic penalty would be incurred without the renewal of the option. Building costs incurred for new restaurants on leased land are depreciated over the lease term, which is generally a twenty -year period. Cloud-Based Computing Arrangements. The Company defers and amortizes application development stage costs for cloud-based computing arrangements over the life of the related service (subscription) agreement. Goodwill. Goodwill represents the excess purchase price and related costs over the value assigned to the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired by Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. ("Carrols"), Fiesta's former parent company, from the acquisition of Pollo Tropical in 1998 and Taco Cabana in 2000. Goodwill is not amortized but is tested for impairment at least annually as of the last day of the fiscal year or more frequently if impairment indicators exist. Long-Lived Assets. The Company assesses the recoverability of property and equipment and definite-lived intangible assets by determining whether the carrying value of these assets can be recovered over their respective remaining lives through undiscounted future operating cash flows. Impairment is reviewed whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of these assets may not be fully recoverable. See Note 5 for results of the Company's impairment review. Deferred Financing Costs. Financing costs incurred in obtaining revolving credit facilities are capitalized and amortized over the life of the related obligation as interest expense on a straight-line basis. Leases. All leases are reviewed for capital or operating classification at their inception. The majority of the Company's leases are operating leases. Many of the lease agreements contain rent holidays, rent escalation clauses and/or contingent rent provisions. Rent expense for leases that contain scheduled rent increases or rent holidays is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term, including any option periods included in the determination of the lease term. Contingent rentals are generally based upon a percentage of sales or a percentage of sales in excess of stipulated amounts and are not considered minimum rent payments but are recognized as rent expense when incurred. Income Taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities as measured by the tax rates that are anticipated to be in effect when those differences reverse. The deferred tax provision generally represents the net change in deferred tax assets and liabilities during the period. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the results of operations in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is established when it is necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to amounts for which realization is more likely than not. The Company recognizes the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. Advertising Costs. All advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Cost of Sales. The Company includes the cost of food, beverage and paper, net of any discounts, in cost of sales. Pre-opening Costs. The Company's pre-opening costs are generally incurred beginning four to six months prior to a restaurant opening and generally include restaurant employee wages and related expenses, travel expenditures, recruiting, training, promotional costs associated with the restaurant opening and rent, including any non-cash rent expense recognized during the construction period. Insurance. The Company is insured for workers' compensation, general liability and medical insurance claims under policies where it pays all claims, subject to stop-loss limitations both for individual claims and for general liability, medical insurance and certain workers' compensation claims in the aggregate. Losses are accrued based upon estimates of the aggregate liability for claims based on the Company's experience and certain actuarial methods used to measure such estimates. The Company does not discount any of its self-insurance obligations. 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 under current market conditions. 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 management's own assumptions. The following methods were used to estimate the fair value of each class of financial instruments for which it is practicable to estimate the fair value: • Current Assets and Liabilities. The carrying values reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheet of cash, accounts receivable and accounts payable approximate fair value because of the short maturity of those financial instruments. • Revolving Credit Borrowings. The fair value of outstanding revolving credit borrowings under the Company's senior credit facility, which is considered Level 2, is based on current LIBOR rates. The fair value of the Company's senior credit facility was approximately $78.0 million at December 30, 2018 and $75.0 million at December 31, 2017 . The carrying value of the Company's senior credit facility was $78.0 million at December 30, 2018 and $75.0 million at December 31, 2017 See Note 5 for discussion of the fair value measurement of non-financial assets. Guidance Adopted in 2018. In May 2014, and in subsequent updates, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) , which supersedes the guidance in former Topic 605, Revenue Recognition , and requires entities to recognize revenue when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to customers at an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. The Company adopted this new accounting standard and all the related amendments as of January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method, and recognized a total cumulative effect adjustment to increase retained earnings by less than $0.1 million , which consisted of a $0.3 million increase related to gift card breakage and a $0.3 million decrease related to initial franchise and area development fees, as a result of adopting the standard. The new standard did not impact the Company's recognition of revenue from Company-owned and operated restaurants or its recognition of sale-based royalties from restaurants operated by franchisees. The comparative period information has not been restated and continues to be reported under the accounting standard in effect for those periods. When compared to the previous accounting policies, the impact of adopting the new standard was immaterial to current and non-current other liabilities and retained earnings at January 1, 2018 and to net income for the twelve months ended December 30, 2018. The adoption of the new standard had no impact on the Company's consolidated statements of cash flows. Revenue Recognition. Revenue is recognized upon transfer of promised products or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company received in exchange for those products or services. Revenues from the Company's owned and operated restaurants are recognized when payment is tendered at the time of sale. Franchise royalty revenues are based on a percent of gross sales and are recorded as income when earned. Initial franchise fees and area development fees associated with new franchise agreements are not distinct from the continuing rights and services offered by the Company during the term of the related franchise agreements and are recognized as income over the term of the related franchise agreements. A portion of the initial franchise fee is allocated to training services and is recognized as revenue when the Company completes the training services. Prior to adopting Topic 606, the Company recognized initial franchise fees as revenue in the period that a franchised location opened for business. See Note 6—Business Segment Information. Gift cards . The Company sells gift cards to its customers in its restaurants and through select third parties. The Company recognizes revenue from gift cards upon redemption by the customer. For unredeemed gift cards that the Company expects to be entitled to breakage, the Company recognizes expected breakage as revenue in proportion to the pattern of redemption by the customers. The gift cards have no stated expiration dates. Revenues from unredeemed gift cards and gift card liabilities, which are recorded in other current liabilities, are not material to the Company's financial statements. Prior to adopting Topic 606, the Company did not recognize breakage on its gift cards. Recent Accounting Pronouncements. In February 2016, and in subsequent updates, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) , which requires lessee recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements. For the Company, the new standard is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and early adoption is permitted. A modified retrospective approach is required with an option to use certain practical expedients. The Company intends to elect the transition method that allows it to initially apply the new standard at the adoption date and recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption. The comparative period information will not be restated and will continue to be reported under the accounting standard in effect for those periods. The Company expects to recognize right-of-use lease assets and lease liabilities for most of the leases it currently accounts for as operating leases, including leases related to closed restaurant properties. The initial right-of-use assets will be calculated as the present value of the remaining operating lease payments using the Company's incremental borrowing rate as of December 31, 2018. See Note 7 for remaining undiscounted operating lease payments. The right-of-use lease assets to be recognized will be reduced by accrued occupancy costs such as certain closed-restaurant lease reserves, accrued rent (including accruals to expense operating lease payments on a straight-line basis) and unamortized lease incentives. See Note 6 for accrued occupancy costs. Upon the adoption of Topic 842, the Company will no longer record closed restaurant lease reserves, and right-of-use lease assets will be reviewed for impairment with the Company's long-lived assets. The Company intends to elect the transition practical expedient package as well as the practical expedient to combine lease and non-lease components of the contracts, which it expects to result in reclassification of certain occupancy related expenses to restaurant rent expenses in the consolidated statement of operations. The Company also expects to separately present rent expense related to its closed restaurant locations and any sublease income related to these closed restaurant locations in the consolidated statement of operations. In addition, the Company will be required to record an initial adjustment to retained earnings associated with previously deferred gains on sale-leaseback transactions and will no longer receive the benefit to rent expense from amortizing such previously deferred gains on sale-leaseback transactions beginning in 2019. For any future sale-leaseback transactions, the gain (adjusted for any off-market terms) will be recognized immediately. Currently, the Company amortizes sale-leaseback gains over the lease term. The Company has not assessed the potential impact of Topic 842 on its covenant financial ratios as the Company's senior credit facility does not give effect to any change in GAAP arising out of Topic 842. The Company is continuing to evaluate the impact of Topic 842 on its financial statements and may identify other impacts. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment , which eliminates the requirement to calculate the implied fair value of goodwill if the fair value of a reporting unit is less than the carrying amount of the reporting unit. Instead, if the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss will be recognized in an amount equal to that excess, limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. The guidance will be effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted. This standard may have an impact on the Company's financial statements if goodwill impairment is recognized in future periods. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-15, Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That is a Service Contract

Prepaid Expenses and Other Curr

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets	Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets Prepaid expenses and other current assets, consist of the following: December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Prepaid contract expenses $ 4,232 $ 3,681 Assets held for sale (1) — 2,705 Other 2,330 3,719 $ 6,562 $ 10,105 (1) Two closed Pollo Tropical restaurant properties owned by the Company that were classified as held for sale as of December 31, 2017 were sold in 2018 for a total of $3.3 million

Property and Equipment

Property and Equipment	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]
Property and Equipment	Property and Equipment Property and equipment consisted of the following: December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Land and land improvements $ 20,428 $ 20,502 Owned buildings 15,205 17,221 Leasehold improvements (1) 207,206 208,499 Equipment 214,674 206,436 Assets subject to capital leases 1,905 2,057 459,418 454,715 Less accumulated depreciation and amortization (228,090 ) (220,154 ) $ 231,328 $ 234,561 (1) Leasehold improvements include the cost of new buildings constructed on leased land. Assets subject to capital leases primarily pertain to buildings leased for certain restaurant locations and had accumulated amortization at December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 of $1.1 million and $1.1 million , respectively. Depreciation and amortization expense for all property and equipment for the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 was $37.6 million , $35.0 million and $36.8 million

Goodwill

Goodwill	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Goodwill	Goodwill The Company is required to review goodwill for impairment annually or more frequently when events and circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may be impaired. If the determined fair value of goodwill is less than the related carrying amount, an impairment loss is recognized. The Company performs its annual impairment assessment as of the last day of the fiscal year and has determined its reporting units to be its operating segments, Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana. In performing its goodwill impairment test, the Company compared the net book values of its reporting units to their estimated fair values, the latter determined by employing a discounted cash flow analysis, which was corroborated with other value indicators where available, such as comparable company earnings multiples. There have been no changes in goodwill or goodwill impairment losses recorded during the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 , and January 1, 2017 . Goodwill balances are summarized below: Pollo Tropical Taco Cabana Total Balance, December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 $ 56,307 $ 67,177 $ 123,484

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Other Lease Charges	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Other Lease Charges	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. In addition to considering management's plans, known regulatory or governmental actions and damage due to acts of God (hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.), the Company considers a triggering event to have occurred related to a specific restaurant if the restaurant's cash flows for the last twelve months are less than a minimum threshold or if consistent levels of cash flows for the remaining lease period are less than the carrying value of the restaurant's assets. 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. There is uncertainty in the projected undiscounted future cash flows used in the Company's impairment review analysis. If actual performance does not achieve the projections, the Company may recognize impairment charges in future periods, and such charges could be material. For closed restaurant locations, the Company reviews the future minimum lease payments and related ancillary costs from the date of the restaurant closure to the end of the remaining lease term and records a lease charge for the lease liabilities to be incurred, net of any estimated sublease recoveries. There is uncertainty in the estimates of future lease costs and sublease recoveries. Actual costs and sublease recoveries could vary significantly from the estimated amounts and result in additional charges, and such amounts could be material. A summary of impairment on long-lived assets and other lease charges recorded by segment is as follows: Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 January 1, 2017 Pollo Tropical $ 13,587 $ 57,947 $ 24,419 Taco Cabana 7,557 3,813 1,225 $ 21,144 $ 61,760 $ 25,644 In 2016, the Company reviewed it strategy for development and decided to suspend additional development of Pollo Tropical restaurants outside of its core Florida markets. The Company closed ten Pollo Tropical restaurants in the fourth quarter of 2016 in Texas, Nashville, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia. On April 24, 2017, the Company announced a Strategic Renewal Plan (the "Plan") to drive long-term shareholder value creation that included the closure of 30 Pollo Tropical restaurants outside its core Florida markets. In September 2017, the Company also closed the six remaining Pollo Tropical restaurants in south Texas. In December 2017, the Company closed four additional underperforming Pollo Tropical restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia. Six Pollo Tropical restaurants that were closed in 2016 and 2017 in Texas were rebranded as Taco Cabana restaurants in 2017 and 2018 and one Pollo Tropical restaurant will be rebranded as a Taco Cabana location in 2019. In December 2018, based on the completion a restaurant portfolio examination, the Company closed 14 Pollo Tropical restaurants including all the remaining restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia, and nine Taco Cabana restaurants. The Company also closed two Taco Cabana restaurants in the second quarter of 2018 and six Taco Cabana restaurants in 2017. Impairment and other lease charges for the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 consisted of impairment charges for Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana restaurants of $13.1 million and $6.0 million , respectively, and lease and other charges for Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana restaurants (as well as a Taco Cabana office location) of $0.5 million and $1.6 million , respectively, net of recoveries. Impairment charges in 2018 were related primarily to 14 Pollo Tropical restaurants that were closed in 2018, two of which were initially impaired in 2017, nine Taco Cabana restaurants that were closed in 2018, one of which was initially impaired in 2017, and one Pollo Tropical restaurant and six Taco Cabana restaurants that the Company continues to operate. Other lease charges, net of recoveries, in 2018 were related primarily to restaurants and an office location that were closed in 2018 as well as previously closed restaurants. Impairment and other lease charges for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 consisted of impairment charges for Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana restaurants and an office location of $52.1 million , $1.9 million , and $0.2 million , respectively, and lease and other charges for Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana restaurants and an office location of $5.4 million , $1.6 million , and $0.5 million , respectively, net of recoveries. Impairment charges in 2017 were related primarily to 40 Pollo Tropical restaurants that were closed in 2017, seven of which were initially impaired in 2016, six Taco Cabana restaurants that were closed in 2017, four of which were initially impaired in 2016, and two Pollo Topical restaurants and five Taco Cabana restaurants the Company continued to operate. Impairment charges in 2017 also included charges with respect to an office location that was closed in December 2017. Other lease charges, net of recoveries, in 2017 were related primarily to restaurants and an office location that were closed in 2017 as well as previously closed restaurants. Impairment and other lease charges for the twelve months ended January 1, 2017 consisted of impairment charges for Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana restaurants of $21.6 million and $1.1 million , respectively, and lease and other charges for Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana restaurants of $2.8 million and $0.2 million , respectively, net of recoveries. Impairment charges in 2016 were related primarily to 17 Pollo Tropical restaurants that were closed in 2016 and 2017 and seven Taco Cabana restaurants, four of which were subsequently closed in 2017 and three of which the Company continued to operate. Other lease charges, net of recoveries, for the twelve months ended January 1, 2017 were related to restaurants closed in 2016 as well as previously closed restaurants. The Company determined the fair value of restaurant equipment, for those restaurants reviewed for impairment, based on current economic conditions, the Company's history of using these assets in the operation of its business and the Company's expectation of how a market participant would value the assets. In addition, for those restaurants reviewed for impairment where the Company owns the land and building, the Company utilized third-party information such as a broker quoted value to determine the fair value of the property. The Company also utilized discounted future cash flows to determine the fair value of assets for certain leased restaurants with positive discounted projected future cash flows. 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 during the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 totaled $8.0 million and $13.8 million . At December 31, 2017 , the Company owned four of the Pollo Tropical restaurants that were closed in 2017. Two of these properties were available for sale and the Company intended to lease the other two properties. Two of these restaurants with a total carrying value of $2.7 million at December 31, 2017 were classified as held for sale. The Company subsequently sold both of the owned properties held for sale in 2018. At December 30, 2018, the Company owned three Pollo Tropical and two

Other Liabilities

Other Liabilities	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Other Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]
Other Liabilities	Other Liabilities Other liabilities, current, consist of the following: December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Accrued workers' compensation and general liability claims $ 4,886 $ 5,083 Sales and property taxes 1,958 2,279 Accrued occupancy costs 4,554 7,813 Other 2,688 6,642 $ 14,086 $ 21,817 Other liabilities, long-term, consist of the following: December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Accrued occupancy costs $ 21,534 $ 20,985 Deferred compensation 867 1,029 Accrued workers' compensation and general liability claims 6,808 6,102 Other 3,295 3,946 $ 32,504 $ 32,062 Accrued occupancy costs include obligations pertaining to closed restaurant locations and accruals to expense operating lease rental payments on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The following table presents the activity in the closed-store reserve, of which $4.4 million and $5.3 million are included in long-term accrued occupancy costs at December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , respectively, with the remainder in other current liabilities. Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Balance, beginning of period $ 12,994 $ 4,912 Provisions for restaurant closures 2,228 8,767 Additional lease charges, net of (recoveries) (152 ) (1,301 ) Payments, net (6,778 ) (5,528 ) Other adjustments 527 6,144 Balance, end of period $ 8,819 $ 12,994

Leases

Leases	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Leases [Abstract]
Leases	Leases The Company utilizes land and buildings in its operations under various lease agreements. The Company does not consider any one of these individual leases material to the Company's operations. Initial lease terms are generally for twenty years and, in many cases, provide for renewal options and in most cases rent escalations. Certain leases require contingent rent, determined as a percentage of sales as defined by the terms of the applicable lease agreement. For most locations, the Company is obligated for occupancy related costs including payment of property taxes, insurance and utilities. During the year ended January 1, 2017, the Company sold one restaurant property in a sale-leaseback transaction for net proceeds of $3.6 million . The lease was classified as an operating lease and contained a twenty -year initial term plus renewal options. A deferred gain on the sale-leaseback transaction of $0.7 million was recognized during the year ended January 1, 2017 and is being amortized over the term of the lease. The amortization of deferred gains on sale-leaseback transactions was $3.6 million for each of the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 . Minimum rent commitments due under capital and non-cancelable operating leases at December 30, 2018 were as follows: Capital Operating 2019 $ 323 $ 44,427 2020 327 44,144 2021 342 41,396 2022 342 40,215 2023 349 36,587 Thereafter 1,646 264,704 Total minimum lease payments (1) 3,329 $ 471,473 Less amount representing interest (1,585 ) Total obligations under capital leases 1,744 Less current portion (108 ) Long-term debt under capital leases $ 1,636 (1) Minimum operating lease payments include contractual rent payments for closed restaurants for which the Company is still obligated under the lease agreements and have not been reduced by minimum sublease rentals of $41.4 million due in the future under non-cancelable subleases. See Note 6—Other Liabilities. Total rent expense on operating leases, including contingent rentals, was as follows: Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 January 1, 2017 Minimum rent on real property, excluding rent included in pre-opening costs $ 35,881 $ 36,760 $ 37,180 Additional rent based on percentage of sales 153 176 313 Restaurant rent expense 36,034 36,936 37,493 Rent included in pre-opening costs 861 856 2,066 Administrative and equipment rent 850 988 1,119 $ 37,745 $ 38,780 $ 40,678

Long-term Debt

Long-term Debt	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Long-term Debt	Long-term Debt Long term debt at December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 consisted of the following: December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Revolving credit facility $ 78,000 $ 75,000 Capital leases 1,744 1,523 79,744 76,523 Less: current portion of long-term debt (108 ) (98 ) $ 79,636 $ 76,425 New Senior Credit Facility. In November 2017, the Company terminated its former senior secured revolving credit facility, referred to as the "former senior credit facility," and entered into a new senior secured revolving credit facility with a syndicate of lenders, which is referred to as the "new senior credit facility." The new senior credit facility provides for aggregate revolving credit borrowings of up to $150 million (including $15 million available for letters of credit) and matures on November 30, 2022 . The new senior credit facility also provides for potential incremental increases of up to $50 million to the revolving credit borrowings available under the new senior credit facility. On December 30, 2018 , there were $78.0 million in outstanding borrowings under the new senior credit facility. Borrowings under the new senior credit facility bear interest at a per annum rate, at the Company's option, equal to either (all terms as defined in the new senior credit facility agreement): 1) the Alternate Base Rate plus the applicable margin of 0.75% to 1.50% based on the Company's Adjusted Leverage Ratio (with a margin of 1.25% as of December 30, 2018 ), or 2) the LIBOR Rate plus the applicable margin of 1.75% to 2.50% based on the Company's Adjusted Leverage Ratio (with a margin of 2.25% at December 30, 2018 ) In addition, the new senior credit facility requires the Company to pay (i) a commitment fee based on the applicable Commitment Fee rate of 0.25% to 0.35% , based on the Company's Adjusted Leverage Ratio, (with a rate of 0.30% at December 30, 2018 ) and the unused portion of the facility and (ii) a letter of credit participation fee based on the applicable LIBOR margin and the dollar amount of outstanding letters of credit. All obligations under the Company's new senior credit facility are guaranteed by all of the Company's material domestic subsidiaries. In general, the Company's obligations under the new senior credit facility and its subsidiaries' obligations under the guarantees are secured by a first priority lien and security interest on substantially all of its assets and the assets of its material subsidiaries (including a pledge of all of the capital stock and equity interests of its material subsidiaries), other than certain specified assets, including real property owned by the Company or its subsidiaries. The outstanding borrowings under the Company's new senior credit facility are prepayable subject to breakage costs as defined in the new senior credit facility. The new senior credit facility requires the Company to comply with customary affirmative, negative and financial covenants, including, without limitation, those limiting the Company's and its subsidiaries' ability to (i) incur indebtedness, (ii) incur liens, (iii) loan, advance, or make acquisitions and other investments or other commitments to construct, acquire or develop new restaurants (subject to certain exceptions), (iv) pay dividends, (v) redeem and repurchase equity interests (subject to certain exceptions), (vi) conduct asset and restaurant sales and other dispositions (subject to certain exceptions), (vii) conduct transactions with affiliates and (viii) change its business. In addition, the new senior credit facility requires the Company to maintain certain financial ratios, including minimum Fixed Charge Coverage and maximum Adjusted Leverage Ratios (all as defined under the new senior credit facility). The Company's new senior credit facility contains customary default provisions, including without limitation, a cross default provision pursuant to which it is an event of default under this facility if there is a default under any of the Company's indebtedness having an outstanding principal amount of $5 million or more which results in the acceleration of such indebtedness prior to its stated maturity or is caused by a failure to pay principal when due. As of December 30, 2018 , the Company was in compliance with the covenants under its new senior credit facility. After reserving $4.0 million for letters of credit, $68.0 million was available for borrowing under the new senior credit facility at December 30, 2018 . At December 30, 2018 , principal payments required on borrowings under the new senior credit facility were $78.0 million in 2022. The weighted average interest rate on the borrowings under the new senior credit facility and former senior credit facility was 4.59% and 3.73% at December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , respectively. Interest expense on the Company's long-term debt, excluding lease financing obligations, was $3.9 million , $2.7 million and $1.9 million for the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 , and January 1, 2017

Income Taxes

Income Taxes	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Income Taxes	Income Taxes The Company's income tax provision (benefit) was comprised of the following: Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 January 1, 2017 Current: Federal $ (10,378 ) $ (5,718 ) $ 11,979 Foreign 355 346 372 State 421 445 1,865 (9,602 ) (4,927 ) 14,216 Deferred: Federal 6,591 (1,059 ) (4,908 ) State 297 (1,649 ) (792 ) 6,888 (2,708 ) (5,700 ) Valuation allowance (58 ) (120 ) (180 ) $ (2,772 ) $ (7,755 ) $ 8,336 Deferred income taxes reflect the effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. The components of deferred income tax assets and liabilities at December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 were as follows: December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Deferred income tax assets: Accrued vacation benefits $ 1,017 $ 1,051 Incentive compensation 959 924 Other accruals 2,976 3,187 Deferred income on sale-leaseback of real estate 4,591 5,422 Occupancy costs 6,038 6,669 Tax credit carryforwards 1,534 883 Property and equipment depreciation — 1,665 Federal net operating loss 1,040 — Other 839 1,073 Gross deferred income tax assets 18,994 20,874 Deferred income tax liabilities: Property and equipment depreciation (5,438 ) — Amortization of other intangibles, net (2,121 ) (2,094 ) Other (374 ) (812 ) Gross deferred income tax liabilities (7,933 ) (2,906 ) Less: Valuation allowance (678 ) (736 ) Net deferred income tax assets $ 10,383 $ 17,232 The Company establishes a valuation allowance to reduce the carrying amount of deferred income tax assets when it is more likely than not that it will not realize some portion or all of the tax benefit of its deferred tax assets. The Company evaluates whether its deferred income tax assets are probable of realization on a quarterly basis. In performing this analysis, the Company considers all available evidence including historical operating results, the estimated timing of future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences and estimated future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary differences and carryforwards. At December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , the Company had a valuation allowance of $678 and $736 respectively, against net deferred income tax assets due to foreign income tax credit carryforwards where it was determined to be more likely than not that the deferred income tax asset amounts would not be realized. The valuation allowance decreased $58 and $120 in 2018 and 2017, respectively, primarily due to expired foreign income tax credits and utilization of foreign tax credit carryforwards. The estimation of future taxable income for federal and state purposes and the Company's ability to realize deferred income tax assets can significantly change based on future events and operating results. The Company's effective tax rate was (55.3)% , 17.6% , and 33.3% for the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 , respectively. A reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax provision (benefit) to the effective tax provision (benefit) was as follows: Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 January 1, 2017 Statutory federal income tax provision (benefit) $ 1,053 $ (15,394 ) $ 8,767 State income taxes, net of federal benefit 552 (734 ) 689 Change in valuation allowance (58 ) (120 ) (180 ) Change in federal income tax rate and tax methods (3,977 ) 8,952 — Net share-based compensation-tax benefit deficiencies 178 228 — Non-deductible expenses 53 84 (3 ) Foreign taxes 355 346 372 Employment tax credits (897 ) (914 ) (905 ) Foreign tax credits/deductions (75 ) (121 ) (372 ) Other 44 (82 ) (32 ) $ (2,772 ) $ (7,755 ) $ 8,336 Tax Law Changes. On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Act"), which includes a provision that reduced the federal corporate income tax rate from 35.0% to 21.0% effective January 1, 2018, was signed into law. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the enactment of this new tax legislation required the Company to revalue its net deferred income tax assets at the new corporate statutory rate of 21.0% as of the enactment date, which resulted in an adjustment to its deferred income taxes of $9.0 million with a corresponding increase to the provision for income taxes as a discrete item during the fourth quarter of 2017. In 2018, in conjunction with a cost segregation study conducted prior to filing its 2017 federal income tax return, the Company changed the depreciation method for certain assets for federal income tax purposes to accelerate tax deductions. Changes in the Company's 2017 federal income tax return from the amounts recorded as of December 31, 2017 were primarily the result of changing the depreciable lives of assets for federal income tax purposes. These changes allowed the Company to record an incremental benefit of $4.0 million during the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 . On December 22, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (SAB 118), which provides guidance on accounting for the impact of the Act, that, in effect, allows entities to use a methodology similar to the measurement period in a business combination. At December 30, 2018 , the Company had completed the accounting for all of the enactment-date income tax effects of the Act. The Company did not make any measurement period adjustments related to the Act in the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 . The Company recognizes interest and/or penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense. As of December 30, 2018 , and December 31, 2017 , the Company had no unrecognized tax benefits and no accrued interest related to uncertain tax positions. The Company has deferred tax benefits that it expects to realize in future years of $1.0 million related to a 2018 federal net operating loss carryforward that has no expiration date and $0.9 million related to employment tax credits that will expire in 2038. The Company also has a deferred tax benefit of $0.2 million related to a Florida net operating loss carryforward that will expire in 2037.

Stockholders' Equity

Stockholders' Equity	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]
Stockholders' Equity	Stockholders' Equity Purchase of Treasury Stock On February 26, 2018, the Company announced that its board of directors approved a share repurchase program for up to 1,500,000 shares of the Company's common stock. Under the share repurchase program, shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws, including Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The share repurchase program has no time limit and may be modified, suspended, superseded or terminated at any time by the Company's board of directors. The Company repurchased 112,358 shares of its common stock under the program in open market transactions during the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 for $2.8 million . The repurchased shares are held as treasury stock at cost. Stock-Based Compensation The Company established the Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. 2012 Stock Incentive Plan (the "Fiesta Plan") in order to be able to compensate its employees and directors by issuing stock options, stock appreciation rights, or stock awards to them under this plan. The aggregate number of shares of stock authorized for distribution under the Fiesta Plan is 3,300,000 . As of December 30, 2018 , there were 1,615,389 shares available for future grants under the Fiesta Plan. During the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 , the Company granted certain employees, and in 2018 a consultant, in the aggregate 161,791 , 182,522 and 50,087 non-vested restricted shares, respectively, under the Fiesta Plan. Shares granted to employees during the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 vest and become non-forfeitable over a four -year vesting period. The shares granted to the consultant vest over a three-year vesting period. The weighted average fair value at the grant date for restricted non-vested shares issued during the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 was $18.70 , $20.75 and $35.25 , respectively. During the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 , the Company granted non-employee directors 31,146 , 38,596 and 14,081 non-vested restricted shares, respectively, under the Fiesta Plan. The weighted average fair value at the grant date for restricted non-vested shares issued to directors during the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 was $20.71 , $21.25 and $33.39 , respectively. These shares vest and become non-forfeitable over a one year vesting period, or for certain grants to new directors, over a five year vesting period. During the years ended December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 , the Company granted certain employees 11,745 and 5,762 restricted stock units, respectively, under the Fiesta Plan. Certain of the restricted stock units vest and become non-forfeitable over a four year vesting period and certain of the restricted stock units vest and become non-forfeitable at the end of a four year vesting period. The weighted average fair value at grant date for the restricted stock units issued to employees during the years ended December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 was $20.75 and $35.25 . Also during the years ended December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , the Company granted certain employees 112,169 and 92,171 restricted stock units, respectively, under the Fiesta Plan subject to continued service requirements and market performance conditions. • During the year ended December 31, 2017 , the Company granted its Chief Executive Officer 72,290 restricted stock units, which vest in four tranches over a four -year vesting period subject to continued service and attainment of specified share prices of the Company's common stock during 20 consecutive trading days at any point during each year. Each tranche vests by the end of a one-year period if the specified target stock price condition for that year is met. If the specified target stock price condition for any tranche is not met for the year, the cumulative unearned units will be rolled over to subsequent tranches on a pro rata basis. The number of shares into which these restricted stock units convert ranges from no shares, if the service and market performance conditions are not met, to 72,290 shares, if the service and market performance conditions are met in the fourth year. The weighted average fair value at grant date for these restricted stock units was $12.90 . • During the years ended December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , the Company granted certain executives 112,169 and 19,881 restricted stock units, respectively, which vest in three tranches over a three -year vesting period subject to continued service and attainment of specified share price of the Company's common stock. Each tranche vests by the end of a one-year period if the specified target stock price condition for that year is met. If the specified target stock price condition for any tranche is not met for the year, the cumulative unearned units will be rolled over to subsequent tranches on a pro rata basis. The number of shares into which these restricted stock units convert ranges from no shares, if the service and market performance conditions are not met, to 112,169 and 19,881 shares, if the service and market performance conditions are met in the third year. The weighted average fair value at grant date for the restricted stock units granted to executives in the years ended December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 was $6.96 and $9.31 per share, respectively. During the year ended January 1, 2017 , the Company granted 33,691 non-vested restricted shares and 33,691 restricted stock units, under the Fiesta Plan to certain employees subject to performance conditions. The non-vested restricted shares vest and become non-forfeitable over a four -year vesting period subject to the attainment of financial performance conditions. The restricted stock units vest and become non-forfeitable at the end of a three -year vesting period. The number of shares into which the restricted stock units convert is based on the attainment of certain financial performance conditions and for the restricted stock units granted during the year ended January 1, 2017 , ranges from no shares, if the minimum financial performance condition is not met, to 67,382 shares, if the maximum financial performance condition is met. The weighted average fair value at grant date for both restricted non-vested shares and restricted stock units subject to financial performance conditions granted during the year ended January 1, 2017 was $35.25 . Stock-based compensation expense is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized as expense over the applicable requisite service period of the award (the vesting period) using the straight-line method, or for restricted stock units subject to market performance conditions using the accelerated method. Stock-based compensation expense for the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 was $3.5 million , $3.5 million and $3.3 million , respectively. As of December 30, 2018 , the total unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to non-vested shares and restricted stock units was approximately $4.9 million . At December 30, 2018 , the remaining weighted average vesting period for non-vested restricted shares was 2.4 years and restricted stock units was 1.1 years . A summary of all non-vested restricted shares and restricted stock units activity for the year ended December 30, 2018 is as follows: Non-Vested Shares Restricted Stock Units Shares Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Units Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Outstanding at December 31, 2017 239,500 $ 24.81 143,946 $ 23.11 Granted 192,937 19.02 112,169 6.96 Vested/Released (113,548 ) 25.15 (10,385 ) 45.82 Forfeited (31,023 ) 22.08 (14,618 ) 51.86 Outstanding at December 30, 2018 287,866 $ 20.70 231,112 $ 12.44 The fair value of the non-vested restricted shares and all other restricted stock units is based on the closing price on the date of grant. The fair value of the restricted stock units subject to market conditions was estimated using the Monte Carlo simulation method. The assumptions used to value grant restricted stock units subject to market conditions are detailed below: 2018 2017 Non-CEO Grant Non-CEO Grant CEO Grant Grant date stock price $ 18.70 $ 17.60 $ 22.55 Fair value at grant date $ 6.96 $ 9.31 $ 12.90 Risk free interest rate 2.40 % 1.51 % 1.52 % Expected term (in years) 3 2.5 3.8 Dividend yield — % — % — % Expected volatility 41.49 % 41.72 % 39.06 % The fair value of the shares vested and released during the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 was $2.5 million , $2.1 million and $5.2 million

Business Segment Information

Business Segment Information	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Business Segment Information	Business Segment Information The Company owns, operates and franchises two restaurant brands, Pollo Tropical ® and Taco Cabana ® , each of which is an operating segment. Pollo Tropical restaurants feature fire-grilled and crispy citrus marinated chicken and other freshly prepared tropical inspired menu items, while Taco Cabana restaurants specialize in Mexican inspired food made fresh by hand. Each segment's accounting policies are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies in Note 1. Prior to the second quarter of 2017, the primary measures of segment profit or loss used to assess performance and allocate resources were income (loss) before taxes and an Adjusted EBITDA measure, which was defined as earnings attributable to the applicable operating segment before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, impairment and other lease charges, stock-based compensation expense and other income and expense. In 2017, the Company's board of directors appointed a new Chief Executive Officer who initiated the Plan and uses an Adjusted EBITDA measure for the purpose of assessing performance and allocating resources to segments. The new Adjusted EBITDA measure used by the chief operating decision maker includes adjustments for significant items that management believes are related to strategic changes and/or are not related to the ongoing operation of the Company's restaurants. Beginning in the second quarter of 2017, the primary measure of segment profit or loss used by the chief operating decision maker to assess performance and allocate resources is Adjusted EBITDA, which is now defined as earnings attributable to the applicable operating segments before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, impairment and other lease charges, stock-based compensation expense, other expense (income), net, and certain significant items for each segment that management believes are related to strategic changes and/or are not related to the ongoing operation of the Company's restaurants as set forth in the reconciliation table below. The Company has included the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA for all periods presented. The "Other" column includes corporate-related items not allocated to reportable segments and consists primarily of corporate-owned property and equipment, miscellaneous prepaid costs, capitalized costs associated with the issuance of indebtedness, corporate cash accounts, a current income tax receivable, and advisory fees related to a previously proposed and terminated separation transaction. Year Ended Pollo Tropical Taco Cabana Other Consolidated December 30, 2018: Restaurant sales $ 374,381 $ 311,544 $ — $ 685,925 Franchise revenue 1,815 857 — 2,672 Cost of sales 123,042 95,904 — 218,946 Restaurant wages and related expenses (1) 87,025 101,106 — 188,131 Restaurant rent expense 17,457 18,577 — 36,034 Other restaurant operating expenses 51,757 49,071 — 100,828 Advertising expense 13,068 10,627 — 23,695 General and administrative expense (2) 29,621 24,904 — 54,525 Adjusted EBITDA 54,903 13,059 — 67,962 Depreciation and amortization 21,372 16,232 — 37,604 Capital expenditures 27,667 28,886 1,297 57,850 December 31, 2017: Restaurant sales $ 372,328 $ 294,256 $ — $ 666,584 Franchise revenue 1,787 761 — 2,548 Cost of sales 117,493 85,395 — 202,888 Restaurant wages and related expenses (1) 88,587 96,155 — 184,742 Restaurant rent expense 18,949 17,987 — 36,936 Other restaurant operating expenses 52,848 46,079 — 98,927 Advertising expense 16,397 9,694 — 26,091 General and administrative expense (2) 33,025 26,608 — 59,633 Adjusted EBITDA 50,937 16,508 — 67,445 Depreciation and amortization 21,758 13,199 — 34,957 Capital expenditures 31,786 20,781 3,299 55,866 January 1, 2017: Restaurant sales $ 399,736 $ 309,220 $ — $ 708,956 Franchise revenue 2,062 752 — 2,814 Cost of sales 126,539 88,070 — 214,609 Restaurant wages and related expenses (1) 93,958 91,347 — 185,305 Restaurant rent expense 19,998 17,495 — 37,493 Other restaurant operating expenses 54,198 42,259 — 96,457 Advertising expense 14,819 11,981 — 26,800 General and administrative expense (2) 32,638 21,366 822 54,826 Adjusted EBITDA 58,286 38,281 — 96,567 Depreciation and amortization 23,587 13,189 — 36,776 Capital expenditures 65,789 13,206 3,370 82,365 Identifiable Assets: December 30, 2018 $ 207,435 $ 174,681 $ 36,543 $ 418,659 December 31, 2017 227,194 167,237 28,882 423,313 January 1, 2017 263,868 165,195 12,502 441,565 (1) Includes stock-based compensation expense of $90 , $52 and $142 for the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 , respectively. (2) Includes stock-based compensation expense of $3,379 , $3,493 and $3,141 for the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 , respectively. A reconciliation of consolidated net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA follows: Year Ended Pollo Tropical Taco Cabana Other Consolidated December 30, 2018: Net income $ 7,787 Benefit from income taxes (2,772 ) Income (loss) before taxes $ 17,639 $ (12,624 ) $ — $ 5,015 Add: Non-general and administrative expense adjustments: Depreciation and amortization 21,372 16,232 — 37,604 Impairment and other lease charges 13,587 7,557 — 21,144 Interest expense 1,920 2,046 — 3,966 Other expense (income), net (1,225 ) (1,782 ) — (3,007 ) Stock-based compensation expense in restaurant wages 34 56 — 90 Total non-general and administrative expense adjustments 35,688 24,109 — 59,797 General and administrative expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense 1,885 1,494 — 3,379 Board and shareholder matter costs (328 ) (269 ) — (597 ) Strategic Renewal Plan restructuring costs and retention bonuses 196 349 — 545 Legal settlements and related costs (177 ) — — (177 ) Total general and administrative expense adjustments 1,576 1,574 — 3,150 Adjusted EBITDA $ 54,903 $ 13,059 $ — $ 67,962 December 31, 2017: Net loss $ (36,232 ) Benefit from income taxes (7,755 ) Loss before taxes $ (37,831 ) $ (6,156 ) $ — $ (43,987 ) Add: Non-general and administrative expense adjustments: Depreciation and amortization 21,758 13,199 — 34,957 Impairment and other lease charges 57,947 3,813 — 61,760 Interest expense 1,348 1,529 — 2,877 Other expense (income), net 2,427 (237 ) — 2,190 Stock-based compensation expense in restaurant wages (4 ) 56 — 52 Unused pre-production costs in advertising expense 322 88 — 410 Total non-general and administrative expense adjustments 83,798 18,448 — 102,246 General and administrative expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense 1,983 1,510 — 3,493 Terminated capital project 484 365 — 849 Board and shareholder matter costs 1,738 1,311 — 3,049 Strategic Renewal Plan restructuring costs and retention bonuses 1,390 1,030 — 2,420 Office restructuring and relocation costs (152 ) — — (152 ) Legal settlements and related costs (473 ) — — (473 ) Total general and administrative expense adjustments 4,970 4,216 — 9,186 Adjusted EBITDA $ 50,937 $ 16,508 $ — $ 67,445 Year Ended: Pollo Tropical Taco Cabana Other Consolidated January 1, 2017: Net income 16,712 Provision for income taxes 8,336 Income (loss) before taxes 4,639 21,231 (822 ) 25,048 Add: Non-general and administrative expense adjustments: Depreciation and amortization 23,587 13,189 — 36,776 Impairment and other lease charges 24,419 1,225 — 25,644 Interest expense 930 1,241 — 2,171 Other expense (income), net 1,236 (106 ) — 1,130 Stock-based compensation expense in restaurant wages 69 73 — 142 Total non-general and administrative expense adjustments 50,241 15,622 — 65,863 General and administrative expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense 1,793 1,348 — 3,141 Board and shareholder matter costs 432 326 822 1,580 Strategic Renewal Plan restructuring costs and retention bonuses 45 41 — 86 Office restructuring and relocation costs 539 — — 539 Legal settlements and related costs 597 (287 ) — 310 Total general and administrative expense adjustments 3,406 1,428 822 5,656 Adjusted EBITDA 58,286 38,281 — 96,567

Earnings (Loss) Per Share

Earnings (Loss) Per Share	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Earnings (Loss) Per Share	Earnings (Loss) Per Share Basic earnings (loss) per share ("EPS") is computed by dividing net income (loss) applicable to common shares by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during each period. Non-vested restricted shares contain a non-forfeitable right to receive dividends on a one-to-one per share ratio to common shares and are thus considered participating securities. The impact of the participating securities is included in the computation of basic EPS pursuant to the two-class method. The two-class method of computing EPS is an earnings allocation formula that determines earnings attributable to common shares and participating securities according to dividends declared (whether paid or unpaid) and participation rights in undistributed earnings. EPS is computed by dividing undistributed earnings allocated to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. In applying the two-class method, undistributed earnings are allocated to both common shares and non-vested restricted shares based on the weighted average shares outstanding during the period. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur if the restricted stock units were to be converted into common shares. Restricted stock units with performance conditions are only included in the diluted EPS calculation to the extent that performance conditions have been met at the measurement date. Diluted EPS is computed by adjusting the basic weighted average number of common shares by the dilutive effect of the restricted stock units, determined using the treasury stock method. Weighted average outstanding restricted stock units totaling 560 and 9,379 shares were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share for the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 and January 1, 2017 , respectively, because including them would have been antidilutive. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 , all restricted stock units outstanding were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share because including them would have been antidilutive as a result of the net loss in the period. The computation of basic and diluted EPS is as follows: Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 January 1, 2017 Basic and diluted EPS: Net income (loss) $ 7,787 $ (36,232 ) $ 16,712 Less: income allocated to participating securities 85 — 135 Net income (loss) available to common stockholders $ 7,702 $ (36,232 ) $ 16,577 Weighted average common shares—basic 26,890,577 26,821,471 26,682,227 Restricted stock units 3,506 — 6,952 Weighted average common shares—diluted 26,894,083 26,821,471 26,689,179 Earnings (loss) per common share—basic $ 0.29 $ (1.35 ) $ 0.62 Earnings (loss) per common share—diluted $ 0.29 $ (1.35 ) $ 0.62

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments and Contingencies	Commitments and Contingencies Lease Assignments . Taco Cabana has assigned three leases to various parties on properties where it no longer operates restaurants with lease terms expiring on various dates through 2029. The assignees are responsible for making the payments required by the leases. The Company is a guarantor under one of the leases, and it remains secondarily liable as a surety with respect to two of the leases. Pollo Tropical assigned one lease to a third party on a property where it no longer operates with a lease term expiring in 2033. The assignee is responsible for making the payments required by the lease. The Company is a guarantor under the lease. The maximum potential liability for future rental payments that the Company could be required to make under these leases at December 30, 2018 was $3.6 million . The Company could also be obligated to pay property taxes and other lease related costs. The obligations under these leases will generally continue to decrease over time as the operating leases expire. The Company does not believe it is probable that it will be ultimately responsible for the obligations under these leases. Legal Matters . The Company is a party to legal proceedings incidental to the conduct of business, including the matter described below. The Company records accruals for outstanding legal matters when it believes it is probable that a loss will be incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. The Company evaluates, on a quarterly basis, developments in legal matters that could affect the amount of any accrual and developments that would make a loss contingency both probable and reasonably estimable. If a loss contingency is not both probable and estimable, the Company does not establish an accrued liability. On November 24, 2015, Pollo Tropical received a legal demand letter alleging that assistant managers were misclassified as exempt from overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act. On September 30, 2016, prior to any suit being filed, Pollo Tropical reached a settlement with seven named individuals and a proposed collective action class that allowed current and former assistant managers to receive notice and opt-in to the settlement. Pollo Tropical denies any liability or unlawful conduct. The settlement was approved by a Florida state judge on December 27, 2017 which resulted in dismissal with prejudice for the named individuals and all individuals that opted-in to the settlement. The Company reserved $0.8 million in 2016 to cover the estimated costs related to the settlement. During the second quarter of 2018, the Company paid all settlement claims costs and recognized a reduction in legal settlement costs of $0.2 million . The Company is also a party to various other litigation matters incidental to the conduct of business. The Company does not believe that the outcome of any of these matters will have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements. Contingency Related to Insurance Recoveries . During the third quarter of 2017, Texas and Florida were struck by Hurricane Harvey and Irma (the "Hurricanes"). Forty-three Taco Cabana and two Pollo Tropical restaurants in the Houston metropolitan area and all Pollo Tropical restaurants in Florida and the Atlanta metropolitan area were temporarily closed and affected by the Hurricanes to varying degrees (e.g. property preparation and damages, inventory losses, payments of hourly employees while restaurants were closed and lost business related to temporary closures). In 2017, the Company recorded expected insurance proceeds of $0.7 million and $0.4 million for Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana, respectively. In the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 , the Company received business interruption and property damage insurance settlement proceeds of $2.8 million and $1.7 million , respectively, and recognized other income of $2.1 million and $1.4 million for Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana, respectively, related to the Hurricanes. The Company has received a final settlement related to the Hurricanes as of December 30, 2018

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]
Retirement Plans	Retirement Plans Fiesta offers the Company's salaried employees the option to participate in the Fiesta Corporation Retirement Savings Plan (the "Retirement Plan"). The Retirement Plan includes a savings option pursuant to section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code in addition to a post-tax savings option. Fiesta may elect to contribute to the Retirement Plan on an annual basis. Contributions made by Fiesta to the Retirement Plan for the Company's employees are made after the end of each plan year. For 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , Fiesta's discretionary annual contribution is equal to 50% of the employee's contribution up to the first 6% of eligible compensation for a maximum Fiesta contribution of 3% of eligible compensation per participating employee. Under the Retirement Plan, Fiesta contributions begin to vest after 1 year and fully vest after 5 years of service. A year of service is defined as a plan year during which an employee completes at least 1,000 hours of service. Participating employees may contribute up to 50% of their salary annually to either of the savings options, subject to other limitations. The employees have various investment options available under a trust established by the Retirement Plan. Retirement Plan employer matching expense for the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 was $0.5 million , $0.4 million and $0.3 million respectively. Fiesta also has a Deferred Compensation Plan which permits employees not eligible to participate in the Retirement Plan because they have been excluded as "highly compensated" employees (as so defined in the Retirement Plan) to voluntarily defer portions of their base salary and annual bonus. All amounts deferred by the participants earn interest at 8% per annum. There is no Company matching on any portion of the funds. At December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , a total of $0.9 million and $1.0 million

Selected Quarterly Financial an

Selected Quarterly Financial and Earnings Data (Unaudited)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Selected Quarterly Financial and Earnings Data (Unaudited)	Selected Quarterly Financial and Earnings Data (Unaudited) Year Ended December 30, 2018 First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter Revenue $ 169,484 $ 176,827 $ 174,648 $ 167,638 Income (loss) from operations (1) 6,878 13,500 (1,921 ) (9,476 ) Net income (loss) 4,184 9,493 2,047 (7,937 ) Earnings (loss) per common share—basic $ 0.15 $ 0.35 $ 0.08 $ (0.30 ) Earnings (loss) per common share—diluted 0.15 0.35 0.08 (0.30 ) Year Ended December 31, 2017 First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter Revenue $ 175,607 $ 172,624 $ 158,691 $ 162,210 Loss from operations (1) (23,118 ) (2,278 ) (12,412 ) (3,302 ) Net loss (2) (15,060 ) (2,160 ) (8,257 ) (10,755 ) Loss per common share—basic $ (0.56 ) $ (0.08 ) $ (0.31 ) $ (0.40 ) Loss per common share—diluted (0.56 ) (0.08 ) (0.31 ) (0.40 ) (1) The Company recognized impairment and other lease charges of $(0.7) million , $0.8 million , $6.4 million and $14.6 million in the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2018, respectively, and $32.4 million , $10.8 million , $15.9 million and $2.7 million in the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2017, respectively. See Note 5—Impairment of Long-lived Assets and Other Lease Charges. (2) On December 22, 2017, the Act, which includes a provision to reduce the federal corporate income tax rate from 35.0% to 21.0% effective January 1, 2018, was signed into law. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the enactment of this new tax legislation required the Company to revalue its net deferred income tax assets at the new corporate statutory rate of 21.0% as of the enactment date, which resulted in a one-time adjustment to its deferred income taxes of $9.0 million with a corresponding increase to the provision for income taxes as a discrete item during the fourth quarter of 2017. In 2018, in conjunction with a cost segregation study conducted prior to filing its 2017 federal income tax return, the Company changed the depreciation method for certain assets for federal income tax purposes to accelerate tax deductions. Changes in the Company's 2017 federal income tax return from the amounts recorded as of December 31, 2017 were primarily the result of changing the depreciable lives of assets for federal income tax purposes. These changes allowed the Company to record an incremental benefit of $3.9 million

SCHEDULE II_VALUATION AND QUALI

SCHEDULE II—VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
SEC Schedule, 12-09, Valuation and Qualifying Accounts [Abstract]
SCHEDULE II—VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS	SCHEDULE II—VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 30, 2018 , DECEMBER 31, 2017 AND JANUARY 1, 2017 (In thousands of dollars) Column B Column C Column D Column E Description Balance at beginning of period Charged to costs and expenses Charged to other accounts Deduction Balance at end of period Year ended December 30, 2018: Deferred income tax valuation allowance $ 736 $ (58 ) $ — $ — $ 678 Year ended December 31, 2017: Deferred income tax valuation allowance 856 (120 ) — — 736 Year ended January 1, 2017: Deferred income tax valuation allowance 1,036 (180 ) — — 856

Basis of Presentation (Policies

Basis of Presentation (Policies)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Consolidation	Basis of Consolidation. The consolidated financial statements presented herein reflect the consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows of Fiesta and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Fiscal Year	Fiscal Year . The Company uses a 52 – 53 week fiscal year ending on the Sunday closest to December 31. The fiscal years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 each contained 52
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates. The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") 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 financial statements. Estimates also affect the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting periods. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include: accrued occupancy costs, insurance liabilities, evaluation for impairment of goodwill and long-lived assets and lease accounting matters. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Reclassification	Reclassification . Write-offs of site development costs were reclassified from general and administrative expense to other expense (income), net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations to conform with the current year presentation.
Concentrations of Risk	Concentrations of Risk. Food and supplies are ordered from approved suppliers and are shipped to the restaurants via distributors. Performance Food Group, Inc. is the primary distributor of food and beverage products and supplies for both Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana. In the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , Performance Food Group, Inc. accounted for approximately 74%
Cash and Cash Equivalents	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.
Inventories	Inventories. Inventories, primarily consisting of food and paper, are stated at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out) or market.
Property and Equipment	Property and Equipment. The Company capitalizes all direct costs incurred to construct and substantially improve its restaurants. These costs are depreciated and charged to expense based upon their property classification when placed in service. Property and equipment is recorded at cost. Application development stage costs for significant internally developed software projects are capitalized and amortized. Repairs and maintenance activities are expensed as incurred. Depreciation and amortization is provided using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives: Buildings and improvements 5 to 30 years Equipment 3 to 7 years Computer hardware and software 3 to 7 years Assets subject to capital lease Shorter of useful life or lease term Leasehold improvements, including new buildings constructed on leased land, are depreciated over the shorter of their estimated useful lives or the underlying lease term. In circumstances where an economic penalty would be presumed by the non-exercise of one or more renewal options under the lease, the Company includes those renewal option periods when determining the lease term. For significant leasehold improvements made during the latter part of the lease term, the Company amortizes those improvements over the shorter of their useful life or an extended lease term. The extended lease term would consider the exercise of renewal options if the value of the improvements would imply that an economic penalty would be incurred without the renewal of the option. Building costs incurred for new restaurants on leased land are depreciated over the lease term, which is generally a twenty
Cloud-Based Computing Arrangements	Cloud-Based Computing Arrangements. The Company defers and amortizes application development stage costs for cloud-based computing arrangements over the life of the related service (subscription) agreement.
Goodwill	Goodwill. Goodwill represents the excess purchase price and related costs over the value assigned to the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired by Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. ("Carrols"), Fiesta's former parent company, from the acquisition of Pollo Tropical in 1998 and Taco Cabana in 2000. Goodwill is not amortized but is tested for impairment at least annually as of the last day of the fiscal year or more frequently if impairment indicators exist.
Long-Lived Assets	Long-Lived Assets. The Company assesses the recoverability of property and equipment and definite-lived intangible assets by determining whether the carrying value of these assets can be recovered over their respective remaining lives through undiscounted future operating cash flows. Impairment is reviewed whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of these assets may not be fully recoverable.
Deferred Financing Costs	Deferred Financing Costs. Financing costs incurred in obtaining revolving credit facilities are capitalized and amortized over the life of the related obligation as interest expense on a straight-line basis.
Leases	Leases. All leases are reviewed for capital or operating classification at their inception. The majority of the Company's leases are operating leases. Many of the lease agreements contain rent holidays, rent escalation clauses and/or contingent rent provisions. Rent expense for leases that contain scheduled rent increases or rent holidays is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term, including any option periods included in the determination of the lease term. Contingent rentals are generally based upon a percentage of sales or a percentage of sales in excess of stipulated amounts and are not considered minimum rent payments but are recognized as rent expense when incurred.
Income Taxes	Income Taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities as measured by the tax rates that are anticipated to be in effect when those differences reverse. The deferred tax provision generally represents the net change in deferred tax assets and liabilities during the period. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the results of operations in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is established when it is necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to amounts for which realization is more likely than not. The Company recognizes the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position.
Advertising Costs	Advertising Costs. All advertising costs are expensed as incurred.
Cost of Sales	Cost of Sales. The Company includes the cost of food, beverage and paper, net of any discounts, in cost of sales.
Pre-opening Costs	Pre-opening Costs. The Company's pre-opening costs are generally incurred beginning four to six
Insurance	Insurance.  The Company is insured for workers' compensation, general liability and medical insurance claims under policies where it pays all claims, subject to stop-loss limitations both for individual claims and for general liability, medical insurance and certain workers' compensation claims in the aggregate. Losses are accrued based upon estimates of the aggregate liability for claims based on the Company's experience and certain actuarial methods used to measure such estimates. The Company does not discount any of its self-insurance obligations.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments	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 under current market conditions. 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 management's own assumptions. The following methods were used to estimate the fair value of each class of financial instruments for which it is practicable to estimate the fair value: • Current Assets and Liabilities. The carrying values reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheet of cash, accounts receivable and accounts payable approximate fair value because of the short maturity of those financial instruments. • Revolving Credit Borrowings.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Guidance Adopted in 2018. In May 2014, and in subsequent updates, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) , which supersedes the guidance in former Topic 605, Revenue Recognition , and requires entities to recognize revenue when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to customers at an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. The Company adopted this new accounting standard and all the related amendments as of January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method, and recognized a total cumulative effect adjustment to increase retained earnings by less than $0.1 million , which consisted of a $0.3 million increase related to gift card breakage and a $0.3 million In February 2016, and in subsequent updates, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) , which requires lessee recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements. For the Company, the new standard is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and early adoption is permitted. A modified retrospective approach is required with an option to use certain practical expedients. The Company intends to elect the transition method that allows it to initially apply the new standard at the adoption date and recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption. The comparative period information will not be restated and will continue to be reported under the accounting standard in effect for those periods. The Company expects to recognize right-of-use lease assets and lease liabilities for most of the leases it currently accounts for as operating leases, including leases related to closed restaurant properties. The initial right-of-use assets will be calculated as the present value of the remaining operating lease payments using the Company's incremental borrowing rate as of December 31, 2018. See Note 7 for remaining undiscounted operating lease payments. The right-of-use lease assets to be recognized will be reduced by accrued occupancy costs such as certain closed-restaurant lease reserves, accrued rent (including accruals to expense operating lease payments on a straight-line basis) and unamortized lease incentives. See Note 6 for accrued occupancy costs. Upon the adoption of Topic 842, the Company will no longer record closed restaurant lease reserves, and right-of-use lease assets will be reviewed for impairment with the Company's long-lived assets. The Company intends to elect the transition practical expedient package as well as the practical expedient to combine lease and non-lease components of the contracts, which it expects to result in reclassification of certain occupancy related expenses to restaurant rent expenses in the consolidated statement of operations. The Company also expects to separately present rent expense related to its closed restaurant locations and any sublease income related to these closed restaurant locations in the consolidated statement of operations. In addition, the Company will be required to record an initial adjustment to retained earnings associated with previously deferred gains on sale-leaseback transactions and will no longer receive the benefit to rent expense from amortizing such previously deferred gains on sale-leaseback transactions beginning in 2019. For any future sale-leaseback transactions, the gain (adjusted for any off-market terms) will be recognized immediately. Currently, the Company amortizes sale-leaseback gains over the lease term. The Company has not assessed the potential impact of Topic 842 on its covenant financial ratios as the Company's senior credit facility does not give effect to any change in GAAP arising out of Topic 842. The Company is continuing to evaluate the impact of Topic 842 on its financial statements and may identify other impacts. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment , which eliminates the requirement to calculate the implied fair value of goodwill if the fair value of a reporting unit is less than the carrying amount of the reporting unit. Instead, if the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss will be recognized in an amount equal to that excess, limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. The guidance will be effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted. This standard may have an impact on the Company's financial statements if goodwill impairment is recognized in future periods. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-15, Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That is a Service Contract
Revenue Recognition	Revenue Recognition. Revenue is recognized upon transfer of promised products or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company received in exchange for those products or services. Revenues from the Company's owned and operated restaurants are recognized when payment is tendered at the time of sale. Franchise royalty revenues are based on a percent of gross sales and are recorded as income when earned. Initial franchise fees and area development fees associated with new franchise agreements are not distinct from the continuing rights and services offered by the Company during the term of the related franchise agreements and are recognized as income over the term of the related franchise agreements. A portion of the initial franchise fee is allocated to training services and is recognized as revenue when the Company completes the training services. Prior to adopting Topic 606, the Company recognized initial franchise fees as revenue in the period that a franchised location opened for business. See Note 6—Business Segment Information. Gift cards . The Company sells gift cards to its customers in its restaurants and through select third parties. The Company recognizes revenue from gift cards upon redemption by the customer. For unredeemed gift cards that the Company expects to be entitled to breakage, the Company recognizes expected breakage as revenue in proportion to the pattern of redemption by the customers. The gift cards have no stated expiration dates. Revenues from unredeemed gift cards and gift card liabilities, which are recorded in other current liabilities, are not material to the Company's financial statements. Prior to adopting Topic 606, the Company did not recognize breakage on its gift cards.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets	The Company reviews its long-lived assets, principally property and equipment, for impairment at the restaurant level. In addition to considering management's plans, known regulatory or governmental actions and damage due to acts of God (hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.), the Company considers a triggering event to have occurred related to a specific restaurant if the restaurant's cash flows for the last twelve months are less than a minimum threshold or if consistent levels of cash flows for the remaining lease period are less than the carrying value of the restaurant's assets. 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. There is uncertainty in the projected undiscounted future cash flows used in the Company's impairment review analysis. If actual performance does not achieve the projections, the Company may recognize impairment charges in future periods, and such charges could be material. For closed restaurant locations, the Company reviews the future minimum lease payments and related ancillary costs from the date of the restaurant closure to the end of the remaining lease term and records a lease charge for the
Purchase of Treasury Stock	Purchase of Treasury Stock On February 26, 2018, the Company announced that its board of directors approved a share repurchase program for up to 1,500,000 shares of the Company's common stock. Under the share repurchase program, shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws, including Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The share repurchase program has no time limit and may be modified, suspended, superseded or terminated at any time by the Company's board of directors. The Company repurchased 112,358 shares of its common stock under the program in open market transactions during the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 for $2.8 million
Business Segment Policy	Each segment's accounting policies are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies in Note 1. Prior to the second quarter of 2017, the primary measures of segment profit or loss used to assess performance and allocate resources were income (loss) before taxes and an Adjusted EBITDA measure, which was defined as earnings attributable to the applicable operating segment before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, impairment and other lease charges, stock-based compensation expense and other income and expense. In 2017, the Company's board of directors appointed a new Chief Executive Officer who initiated the Plan and uses an Adjusted EBITDA measure for the purpose of assessing performance and allocating resources to segments. The new Adjusted EBITDA measure used by the chief operating decision maker includes adjustments for significant items that management believes are related to strategic changes and/or are not related to the ongoing operation of the Company's restaurants. Beginning in the second quarter of 2017, the primary measure of segment profit or loss used by the chief operating decision maker to assess performance and allocate resources is Adjusted EBITDA, which is now defined as earnings attributable to the applicable operating segments before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, impairment and other lease charges, stock-based compensation expense, other expense (income), net, and certain significant items for each segment that management believes are related to strategic changes and/or are not related to the ongoing operation of the Company's restaurants as set forth in the reconciliation table below. The Company has included the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA for all periods presented.
Net Income per Share	Basic earnings (loss) per share ("EPS") is computed by dividing net income (loss) applicable to common shares by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during each period. Non-vested restricted shares contain a non-forfeitable right to receive dividends on a one-to-one per share ratio to common shares and are thus considered participating securities. The impact of the participating securities is included in the computation of basic EPS pursuant to the two-class method. The two-class method of computing EPS is an earnings allocation formula that determines earnings attributable to common shares and participating securities according to dividends declared (whether paid or unpaid) and participation rights in undistributed earnings. EPS is computed by dividing undistributed earnings allocated to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. In applying the two-class method, undistributed earnings are allocated to both common shares and non-vested restricted shares based on the weighted average shares outstanding during the period.Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur if the restricted stock units were to be converted into common shares. Restricted stock units with performance conditions are only included in the diluted EPS calculation to the extent that performance conditions have been met at the measurement date. Diluted EPS is computed by adjusting the basic weighted average number of common shares by the dilutive effect of the restricted stock units, determined using the treasury stock method.

Basis of Presentation (Tables)

Basis of Presentation (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Schedule of Property and Equipment Useful Lives	Depreciation and amortization is provided using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives: Buildings and improvements 5 to 30 years Equipment 3 to 7 years Computer hardware and software 3 to 7 years Assets subject to capital lease Shorter of useful life or lease term December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Land and land improvements $ 20,428 $ 20,502 Owned buildings 15,205 17,221 Leasehold improvements (1) 207,206 208,499 Equipment 214,674 206,436 Assets subject to capital leases 1,905 2,057 459,418 454,715 Less accumulated depreciation and amortization (228,090 ) (220,154 ) $ 231,328 $ 234,561 (1)

Prepaid Expenses and Other Cu_2

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets	Prepaid expenses and other current assets, consist of the following: December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Prepaid contract expenses $ 4,232 $ 3,681 Assets held for sale (1) — 2,705 Other 2,330 3,719 $ 6,562 $ 10,105 (1) Two closed Pollo Tropical restaurant properties owned by the Company that were classified as held for sale as of December 31, 2017 were sold in 2018 for a total of $3.3 million

Property and Equipment (Tables)

Property and Equipment (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]
Schedule of Property and Equipment	Depreciation and amortization is provided using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives: Buildings and improvements 5 to 30 years Equipment 3 to 7 years Computer hardware and software 3 to 7 years Assets subject to capital lease Shorter of useful life or lease term December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Land and land improvements $ 20,428 $ 20,502 Owned buildings 15,205 17,221 Leasehold improvements (1) 207,206 208,499 Equipment 214,674 206,436 Assets subject to capital leases 1,905 2,057 459,418 454,715 Less accumulated depreciation and amortization (228,090 ) (220,154 ) $ 231,328 $ 234,561 (1)

Goodwill (Tables)

Goodwill (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of Goodwill	Goodwill balances are summarized below: Pollo Tropical Taco Cabana Total Balance, December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 $ 56,307 $ 67,177 $ 123,484

Impairment of Long-Lived Asse_2

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Other Lease Charges (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets by Segment	A summary of impairment on long-lived assets and other lease charges recorded by segment is as follows: Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 January 1, 2017 Pollo Tropical $ 13,587 $ 57,947 $ 24,419 Taco Cabana 7,557 3,813 1,225 $ 21,144 $ 61,760 $ 25,644
Other Lease Charges (Recoveries) by Segment	A summary of impairment on long-lived assets and other lease charges recorded by segment is as follows: Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 January 1, 2017 Pollo Tropical $ 13,587 $ 57,947 $ 24,419 Taco Cabana 7,557 3,813 1,225 $ 21,144 $ 61,760 $ 25,644

Other Liabilities (Tables)

Other Liabilities (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Other Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]
Other Liabilities, Current	Other liabilities, current, consist of the following: December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Accrued workers' compensation and general liability claims $ 4,886 $ 5,083 Sales and property taxes 1,958 2,279 Accrued occupancy costs 4,554 7,813 Other 2,688 6,642 $ 14,086 $ 21,817
Other Liabilities, Long-term	Other liabilities, long-term, consist of the following: December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Accrued occupancy costs $ 21,534 $ 20,985 Deferred compensation 867 1,029 Accrued workers' compensation and general liability claims 6,808 6,102 Other 3,295 3,946 $ 32,504 $ 32,062
Activity in the Closed-Store Reserve	The following table presents the activity in the closed-store reserve, of which $4.4 million and $5.3 million are included in long-term accrued occupancy costs at December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , respectively, with the remainder in other current liabilities. Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Balance, beginning of period $ 12,994 $ 4,912 Provisions for restaurant closures 2,228 8,767 Additional lease charges, net of (recoveries) (152 ) (1,301 ) Payments, net (6,778 ) (5,528 ) Other adjustments 527 6,144 Balance, end of period $ 8,819 $ 12,994

Leases (Tables)

Leases (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Leases [Abstract]
Minimum Rent Commitments Due Under Capital Leases	Minimum rent commitments due under capital and non-cancelable operating leases at December 30, 2018 were as follows: Capital Operating 2019 $ 323 $ 44,427 2020 327 44,144 2021 342 41,396 2022 342 40,215 2023 349 36,587 Thereafter 1,646 264,704 Total minimum lease payments (1) 3,329 $ 471,473 Less amount representing interest (1,585 ) Total obligations under capital leases 1,744 Less current portion (108 ) Long-term debt under capital leases $ 1,636 (1) Minimum operating lease payments include contractual rent payments for closed restaurants for which the Company is still obligated under the lease agreements and have not been reduced by minimum sublease rentals of $41.4 million
Minimum Rent Commitments Due Under Non-Cancelable Operating Leases	Minimum rent commitments due under capital and non-cancelable operating leases at December 30, 2018 were as follows: Capital Operating 2019 $ 323 $ 44,427 2020 327 44,144 2021 342 41,396 2022 342 40,215 2023 349 36,587 Thereafter 1,646 264,704 Total minimum lease payments (1) 3,329 $ 471,473 Less amount representing interest (1,585 ) Total obligations under capital leases 1,744 Less current portion (108 ) Long-term debt under capital leases $ 1,636 (1) Minimum operating lease payments include contractual rent payments for closed restaurants for which the Company is still obligated under the lease agreements and have not been reduced by minimum sublease rentals of $41.4 million due in the future under non-cancelable subleases. See Note 6—Other Liabilities.
Total Rent Expense on Operating Leases, Including Contingent Rentals	Total rent expense on operating leases, including contingent rentals, was as follows: Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 January 1, 2017 Minimum rent on real property, excluding rent included in pre-opening costs $ 35,881 $ 36,760 $ 37,180 Additional rent based on percentage of sales 153 176 313 Restaurant rent expense 36,034 36,936 37,493 Rent included in pre-opening costs 861 856 2,066 Administrative and equipment rent 850 988 1,119 $ 37,745 $ 38,780 $ 40,678

Long-term Debt (Tables)

Long-term Debt (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of Long-term Debt	Long term debt at December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 consisted of the following: December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Revolving credit facility $ 78,000 $ 75,000 Capital leases 1,744 1,523 79,744 76,523 Less: current portion of long-term debt (108 ) (98 ) $ 79,636 $ 76,425

Income Taxes (Tables)

Income Taxes (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of the Company’s Income Tax Provision	The Company's income tax provision (benefit) was comprised of the following: Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 January 1, 2017 Current: Federal $ (10,378 ) $ (5,718 ) $ 11,979 Foreign 355 346 372 State 421 445 1,865 (9,602 ) (4,927 ) 14,216 Deferred: Federal 6,591 (1,059 ) (4,908 ) State 297 (1,649 ) (792 ) 6,888 (2,708 ) (5,700 ) Valuation allowance (58 ) (120 ) (180 ) $ (2,772 ) $ (7,755 ) $ 8,336
Components of Deferred Income Tax Assets and Liabilities	The components of deferred income tax assets and liabilities at December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 were as follows: December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Deferred income tax assets: Accrued vacation benefits $ 1,017 $ 1,051 Incentive compensation 959 924 Other accruals 2,976 3,187 Deferred income on sale-leaseback of real estate 4,591 5,422 Occupancy costs 6,038 6,669 Tax credit carryforwards 1,534 883 Property and equipment depreciation — 1,665 Federal net operating loss 1,040 — Other 839 1,073 Gross deferred income tax assets 18,994 20,874 Deferred income tax liabilities: Property and equipment depreciation (5,438 ) — Amortization of other intangibles, net (2,121 ) (2,094 ) Other (374 ) (812 ) Gross deferred income tax liabilities (7,933 ) (2,906 ) Less: Valuation allowance (678 ) (736 ) Net deferred income tax assets $ 10,383 $ 17,232
Reconciliation of the Statutory Federal Income Tax Provision to the Effective Tax Provision	A reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax provision (benefit) to the effective tax provision (benefit) was as follows: Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 January 1, 2017 Statutory federal income tax provision (benefit) $ 1,053 $ (15,394 ) $ 8,767 State income taxes, net of federal benefit 552 (734 ) 689 Change in valuation allowance (58 ) (120 ) (180 ) Change in federal income tax rate and tax methods (3,977 ) 8,952 — Net share-based compensation-tax benefit deficiencies 178 228 — Non-deductible expenses 53 84 (3 ) Foreign taxes 355 346 372 Employment tax credits (897 ) (914 ) (905 ) Foreign tax credits/deductions (75 ) (121 ) (372 ) Other 44 (82 ) (32 ) $ (2,772 ) $ (7,755 ) $ 8,336

Stockholders' Equity (Tables)

Stockholders' Equity (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]
Schedule of Non-Vested Restricted Shares and Restricted Stock Units Activity	A summary of all non-vested restricted shares and restricted stock units activity for the year ended December 30, 2018 is as follows: Non-Vested Shares Restricted Stock Units Shares Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Units Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Outstanding at December 31, 2017 239,500 $ 24.81 143,946 $ 23.11 Granted 192,937 19.02 112,169 6.96 Vested/Released (113,548 ) 25.15 (10,385 ) 45.82 Forfeited (31,023 ) 22.08 (14,618 ) 51.86 Outstanding at December 30, 2018 287,866 $ 20.70 231,112 $ 12.44
Restricted Stock Units Subject to Market Conditions Assumptions	The assumptions used to value grant restricted stock units subject to market conditions are detailed below: 2018 2017 Non-CEO Grant Non-CEO Grant CEO Grant Grant date stock price $ 18.70 $ 17.60 $ 22.55 Fair value at grant date $ 6.96 $ 9.31 $ 12.90 Risk free interest rate 2.40 % 1.51 % 1.52 % Expected term (in years) 3 2.5 3.8 Dividend yield — % — % — % Expected volatility 41.49 % 41.72 % 39.06 %

Business Segment Information (T

Business Segment Information (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Schedule of Segment Reporting Information, by Segment	Year Ended Pollo Tropical Taco Cabana Other Consolidated December 30, 2018: Restaurant sales $ 374,381 $ 311,544 $ — $ 685,925 Franchise revenue 1,815 857 — 2,672 Cost of sales 123,042 95,904 — 218,946 Restaurant wages and related expenses (1) 87,025 101,106 — 188,131 Restaurant rent expense 17,457 18,577 — 36,034 Other restaurant operating expenses 51,757 49,071 — 100,828 Advertising expense 13,068 10,627 — 23,695 General and administrative expense (2) 29,621 24,904 — 54,525 Adjusted EBITDA 54,903 13,059 — 67,962 Depreciation and amortization 21,372 16,232 — 37,604 Capital expenditures 27,667 28,886 1,297 57,850 December 31, 2017: Restaurant sales $ 372,328 $ 294,256 $ — $ 666,584 Franchise revenue 1,787 761 — 2,548 Cost of sales 117,493 85,395 — 202,888 Restaurant wages and related expenses (1) 88,587 96,155 — 184,742 Restaurant rent expense 18,949 17,987 — 36,936 Other restaurant operating expenses 52,848 46,079 — 98,927 Advertising expense 16,397 9,694 — 26,091 General and administrative expense (2) 33,025 26,608 — 59,633 Adjusted EBITDA 50,937 16,508 — 67,445 Depreciation and amortization 21,758 13,199 — 34,957 Capital expenditures 31,786 20,781 3,299 55,866 January 1, 2017: Restaurant sales $ 399,736 $ 309,220 $ — $ 708,956 Franchise revenue 2,062 752 — 2,814 Cost of sales 126,539 88,070 — 214,609 Restaurant wages and related expenses (1) 93,958 91,347 — 185,305 Restaurant rent expense 19,998 17,495 — 37,493 Other restaurant operating expenses 54,198 42,259 — 96,457 Advertising expense 14,819 11,981 — 26,800 General and administrative expense (2) 32,638 21,366 822 54,826 Adjusted EBITDA 58,286 38,281 — 96,567 Depreciation and amortization 23,587 13,189 — 36,776 Capital expenditures 65,789 13,206 3,370 82,365 Identifiable Assets: December 30, 2018 $ 207,435 $ 174,681 $ 36,543 $ 418,659 December 31, 2017 227,194 167,237 28,882 423,313 January 1, 2017 263,868 165,195 12,502 441,565 (1) Includes stock-based compensation expense of $90 , $52 and $142 for the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 , respectively. (2) Includes stock-based compensation expense of $3,379 , $3,493 and $3,141 for the years ended December 30, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2017 , respectively.
Reconciliation Of Consolidated Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA	A reconciliation of consolidated net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA follows: Year Ended Pollo Tropical Taco Cabana Other Consolidated December 30, 2018: Net income $ 7,787 Benefit from income taxes (2,772 ) Income (loss) before taxes $ 17,639 $ (12,624 ) $ — $ 5,015 Add: Non-general and administrative expense adjustments: Depreciation and amortization 21,372 16,232 — 37,604 Impairment and other lease charges 13,587 7,557 — 21,144 Interest expense 1,920 2,046 — 3,966 Other expense (income), net (1,225 ) (1,782 ) — (3,007 ) Stock-based compensation expense in restaurant wages 34 56 — 90 Total non-general and administrative expense adjustments 35,688 24,109 — 59,797 General and administrative expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense 1,885 1,494 — 3,379 Board and shareholder matter costs (328 ) (269 ) — (597 ) Strategic Renewal Plan restructuring costs and retention bonuses 196 349 — 545 Legal settlements and related costs (177 ) — — (177 ) Total general and administrative expense adjustments 1,576 1,574 — 3,150 Adjusted EBITDA $ 54,903 $ 13,059 $ — $ 67,962 December 31, 2017: Net loss $ (36,232 ) Benefit from income taxes (7,755 ) Loss before taxes $ (37,831 ) $ (6,156 ) $ — $ (43,987 ) Add: Non-general and administrative expense adjustments: Depreciation and amortization 21,758 13,199 — 34,957 Impairment and other lease charges 57,947 3,813 — 61,760 Interest expense 1,348 1,529 — 2,877 Other expense (income), net 2,427 (237 ) — 2,190 Stock-based compensation expense in restaurant wages (4 ) 56 — 52 Unused pre-production costs in advertising expense 322 88 — 410 Total non-general and administrative expense adjustments 83,798 18,448 — 102,246 General and administrative expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense 1,983 1,510 — 3,493 Terminated capital project 484 365 — 849 Board and shareholder matter costs 1,738 1,311 — 3,049 Strategic Renewal Plan restructuring costs and retention bonuses 1,390 1,030 — 2,420 Office restructuring and relocation costs (152 ) — — (152 ) Legal settlements and related costs (473 ) — — (473 ) Total general and administrative expense adjustments 4,970 4,216 — 9,186 Adjusted EBITDA $ 50,937 $ 16,508 $ — $ 67,445 Year Ended: Pollo Tropical Taco Cabana Other Consolidated January 1, 2017: Net income 16,712 Provision for income taxes 8,336 Income (loss) before taxes 4,639 21,231 (822 ) 25,048 Add: Non-general and administrative expense adjustments: Depreciation and amortization 23,587 13,189 — 36,776 Impairment and other lease charges 24,419 1,225 — 25,644 Interest expense 930 1,241 — 2,171 Other expense (income), net 1,236 (106 ) — 1,130 Stock-based compensation expense in restaurant wages 69 73 — 142 Total non-general and administrative expense adjustments 50,241 15,622 — 65,863 General and administrative expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense 1,793 1,348 — 3,141 Board and shareholder matter costs 432 326 822 1,580 Strategic Renewal Plan restructuring costs and retention bonuses 45 41 — 86 Office restructuring and relocation costs 539 — — 539 Legal settlements and related costs 597 (287 ) — 310 Total general and administrative expense adjustments 3,406 1,428 822 5,656 Adjusted EBITDA 58,286 38,281 — 96,567

Earnings (Loss) Per Share (Tabl

Earnings (Loss) Per Share (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Schedule of Basic and Diluted Net Income per Share	The computation of basic and diluted EPS is as follows: Year Ended December 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 January 1, 2017 Basic and diluted EPS: Net income (loss) $ 7,787 $ (36,232 ) $ 16,712 Less: income allocated to participating securities 85 — 135 Net income (loss) available to common stockholders $ 7,702 $ (36,232 ) $ 16,577 Weighted average common shares—basic 26,890,577 26,821,471 26,682,227 Restricted stock units 3,506 — 6,952 Weighted average common shares—diluted 26,894,083 26,821,471 26,689,179 Earnings (loss) per common share—basic $ 0.29 $ (1.35 ) $ 0.62 Earnings (loss) per common share—diluted $ 0.29 $ (1.35 ) $ 0.62

Selected Quarterly Financial _2

Selected Quarterly Financial and Earnings Data (Unaudited) (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information	Year Ended December 30, 2018 First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter Revenue $ 169,484 $ 176,827 $ 174,648 $ 167,638 Income (loss) from operations (1) 6,878 13,500 (1,921 ) (9,476 ) Net income (loss) 4,184 9,493 2,047 (7,937 ) Earnings (loss) per common share—basic $ 0.15 $ 0.35 $ 0.08 $ (0.30 ) Earnings (loss) per common share—diluted 0.15 0.35 0.08 (0.30 ) Year Ended December 31, 2017 First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter Revenue $ 175,607 $ 172,624 $ 158,691 $ 162,210 Loss from operations (1) (23,118 ) (2,278 ) (12,412 ) (3,302 ) Net loss (2) (15,060 ) (2,160 ) (8,257 ) (10,755 ) Loss per common share—basic $ (0.56 ) $ (0.08 ) $ (0.31 ) $ (0.40 ) Loss per common share—diluted (0.56 ) (0.08 ) (0.31 ) (0.40 ) (1) The Company recognized impairment and other lease charges of $(0.7) million , $0.8 million , $6.4 million and $14.6 million in the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2018, respectively, and $32.4 million , $10.8 million , $15.9 million and $2.7 million in the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2017, respectively. See Note 5—Impairment of Long-lived Assets and Other Lease Charges. (2) On December 22, 2017, the Act, which includes a provision to reduce the federal corporate income tax rate from 35.0% to 21.0% effective January 1, 2018, was signed into law. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the enactment of this new tax legislation required the Company to revalue its net deferred income tax assets at the new corporate statutory rate of 21.0% as of the enactment date, which resulted in a one-time adjustment to its deferred income taxes of $9.0 million with a corresponding increase to the provision for income taxes as a discrete item during the fourth quarter of 2017. In 2018, in conjunction with a cost segregation study conducted prior to filing its 2017 federal income tax return, the Company changed the depreciation method for certain assets for federal income tax purposes to accelerate tax deductions. Changes in the Company's 2017 federal income tax return from the amounts recorded as of December 31, 2017 were primarily the result of changing the depreciable lives of assets for federal income tax purposes. These changes allowed the Company to record an incremental benefit of $3.9 million

Basis of Presentation - Narrati

Basis of Presentation - Narrative (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018segmentrestaurant	Dec. 31, 2017
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of fast-casual restaurant brands | segment	2
Minimum
Entity Information [Line Items]
Period prior to restaurant opening when pre-opening costs are incurred	4 months
Maximum
Entity Information [Line Items]
Period prior to restaurant opening when pre-opening costs are incurred	6 months
Supplier Concentration Risk
Entity Information [Line Items]
Percentage of supplies delivered to restaurants provided by one vendor	74.00%	74.00%
Entity Operated Units | Pollo Tropical
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	139
Entity Operated Units | Taco Cabana
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	162
Franchised Units | Pollo Tropical
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	30
Franchised Units | Pollo Tropical | Puerto Rico
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	17
Franchised Units | Pollo Tropical | Panama
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	4
Franchised Units | Pollo Tropical | Guyana
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	2
Franchised Units | Pollo Tropical | Bahamas
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	1
Franchised Units | Pollo Tropical | Florida | College Campus
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	5
Franchised Units | Pollo Tropical | Florida | Hospital
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	1
Franchised Units | Taco Cabana
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	8
Franchised Units | Taco Cabana | New Mexico
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	6
Franchised Units | Taco Cabana | Texas
Entity Information [Line Items]
Number of restaurants	2

Basis of Presentation - Propert

Basis of Presentation - Property Disclosures (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Lease term, new restaurants	20 years
Buildings and improvements | Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life	5 years
Buildings and improvements | Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life	30 years
Equipment | Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life	3 years
Equipment | Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life	7 years
Computer hardware and software | Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life	3 years
Computer hardware and software | Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life	7 years

Basis of Presentation - Fair Va

Basis of Presentation - Fair Value Disclosures (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Carrying value of senior credit facility	$ 78,000	$ 75,000
Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of senior credit facility	$ 78,000	$ 75,000

Basis of Presentation - Recent

Basis of Presentation - Recent Accounting Pronouncements and Guidance Adopted (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 30, 2018	Jan. 01, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings	$ 72,268		$ 64,425
Difference between Revenue Guidance in Effect before and after Topic 606 | ASU 2014-09 | Gift Card Breakage
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings		$ 300
Difference between Revenue Guidance in Effect before and after Topic 606 | ASU 2014-09 | Initial Franchise and Area Development Fees
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings		(300)
Difference between Revenue Guidance in Effect before and after Topic 606 | ASU 2014-09 | Less Than
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings		$ 100

Prepaid Expenses and Other Cu_3

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018USD ($)restaurant	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2017USD ($)
Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Prepaid contract expenses	$ 4,232	$ 3,681
Assets held for sale	0	2,705
Other	2,330	3,719
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	6,562	10,105
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of restaurant property	$ 4,743	$ 374	$ 226
Pollo Tropical
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Number of restaurants sold | restaurant	2
Proceeds from sale of restaurant property	$ 3,300

Property and Equipment - Schedu

Property and Equipment - Schedule of Property and Equipment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 459,418	$ 454,715
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(228,090)	(220,154)
Property and equipment, net	231,328	234,561
Land and land improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	20,428	20,502
Owned buildings
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	15,205	17,221
Leasehold improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	207,206	208,499
Equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	214,674	206,436
Assets subject to capital leases
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 1,905	$ 2,057

Property and Equipment - Narrat

Property and Equipment - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]
Assets subject to capital leases, accumulated amortization	$ 1,100	$ 1,100
Depreciation and amortization	$ 37,604	$ 34,957	$ 36,776

Goodwill (Details)

Goodwill (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Changes in goodwill	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Changes in goodwill, impairment loss	0	0	$ 0
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	123,484,000	123,484,000
Pollo Tropical
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	56,307,000	56,307,000
Taco Cabana
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 67,177,000	$ 67,177,000

Impairment of Long-Lived Asse_3

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Other Lease Charges - Schedule of Impairment and Other Lease Charges (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jul. 01, 2018	Apr. 01, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Oct. 01, 2017	Jul. 02, 2017	Apr. 02, 2017	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Impairment and other lease charges	$ 14,600	$ 6,400	$ 800	$ (700)	$ 2,700	$ 15,900	$ 10,800	$ 32,400	$ 21,144	$ 61,760	$ 25,644
Pollo Tropical
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Impairment and other lease charges									13,587	57,947	24,419
Taco Cabana
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Impairment and other lease charges									$ 7,557	$ 3,813	$ 1,225

Impairment of Long-Lived Asse_4

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Other Lease Charges - Narrative (Details) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018USD ($)restaurant	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)restaurant	Jan. 01, 2017USD ($)restaurant	Dec. 29, 2019restaurant	Jul. 01, 2018restaurant	Sep. 30, 2017restaurant	Apr. 24, 2017restaurant
Level 3
Impairment and Other Lease Charges [Line Items]
Level 3 assets measured at fair value | $	$ 8	$ 13.8
Pollo Tropical
Impairment and Other Lease Charges [Line Items]
Number of closed restaurants	14	40	10				30
Number of restaurants, conversion	6
Impairment charges | $	$ 13.1		$ 21.6
Lease and other charges | $	$ 0.5		$ 2.8
Number of closed restaurants, impaired in prior period	2	7
Number of impaired restaurants the company continues to operate	1	2
Number of impaired restaurants			17
Number of owned closed restaurants	3	4
Number of closed restaurants held for sale		2
Number of closed restaurants available for lease		2
Carrying value of assets held for sale | $		$ 2.7
Pollo Tropical | Operating Segments
Impairment and Other Lease Charges [Line Items]
Impairment charges | $		52.1
Lease and other charges | $		$ 5.4
Pollo Tropical | Forecast
Impairment and Other Lease Charges [Line Items]
Number of restaurants, conversion				1
Pollo Tropical | South Texas
Impairment and Other Lease Charges [Line Items]
Number of closed restaurants						6
Pollo Tropical | Georgia
Impairment and Other Lease Charges [Line Items]
Number of closed restaurants		4
Taco Cabana
Impairment and Other Lease Charges [Line Items]
Number of closed restaurants	9	6			2
Impairment charges | $	$ 6		$ 1.1
Lease and other charges | $	$ 1.6		$ 0.2
Number of closed restaurants, impaired in prior period	1	4
Number of impaired restaurants the company continues to operate	6	5	3
Number of impaired restaurants			7
Number of owned closed restaurants	2
Taco Cabana | Operating Segments
Impairment and Other Lease Charges [Line Items]
Impairment charges | $		$ 1.9
Lease and other charges | $		1.6
Other | Other
Impairment and Other Lease Charges [Line Items]
Impairment charges | $		0.2
Lease and other charges | $		$ 0.5

Other Liabilities - Current (De

Other Liabilities - Current (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Other Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]
Accrued workers' compensation and general liability claims	$ 4,886	$ 5,083
Sales and property taxes	1,958	2,279
Accrued occupancy costs	4,554	7,813
Other	2,688	6,642
Other liabilities, current	$ 14,086	$ 21,817

Other Liabilities - Noncurrent

Other Liabilities - Noncurrent (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Other Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]
Accrued occupancy costs	$ 21,534	$ 20,985
Deferred compensation	867	1,029
Accrued workers' compensation and general liability claims	6,808	6,102
Other	3,295	3,946
Other liabilities, long-term	$ 32,504	$ 32,062

Other Liabilities - Narrative (

Other Liabilities - Narrative (Details) - Closed Stores - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Closed-store reserve	$ 8,819	$ 12,994	$ 4,912
Other Liabilities, Noncurrent
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Closed-store reserve	$ 4,400	$ 5,300

Other Liabilities - Restructuri

Other Liabilities - Restructuring Reserve (Details) - Closed Stores - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Activity in the Closed-Store Reserve
Balance, beginning of period	$ 12,994	$ 4,912
Provisions for restaurant closures	2,228	8,767
Additional lease charges, net of (recoveries)	(152)	(1,301)
Payments, net	(6,778)	(5,528)
Other adjustments	527	6,144
Balance, end of period	$ 8,819	$ 12,994

Leases - Sale-Leaseback Transac

Leases - Sale-Leaseback Transactions (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2017USD ($)restaurant
Sale Leaseback Transaction [Line Items]
Net proceeds from restaurant properties sold in sale-leaseback transactions	$ 0	$ 0	$ 3,642
Lease term, new restaurants	20 years
Deferred gains on sale-leaseback transactions			700
Amortization of deferred gains from sale-leaseback transactions	$ 3,564	$ 3,602	$ 3,583
Sale-Leaseback Transactions
Sale Leaseback Transaction [Line Items]
Number of restaurants | restaurant			1
Lease term, new restaurants		20 years

Leases - Future Minimum Lease P

Leases - Future Minimum Lease Payments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Capital
2,019	$ 323
2,020	327
2,021	342
2,022	342
2,023	349
Thereafter	1,646
Total minimum lease payments	3,329
Less amount representing interest	(1,585)
Total obligations under capital leases	1,744	$ 1,523
Less current portion	(108)
Long-term debt under capital leases	1,636
Operating
2,019	44,427
2,020	44,144
2,021	41,396
2,022	40,215
2,023	36,587
Thereafter	264,704
Total minimum lease payments	471,473
Future minimum sublease rentals	$ 41,400

Leases - Rent Expense, Operatin

Leases - Rent Expense, Operating Leases (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Restaurant rent expense	$ 36,034	$ 36,936	$ 37,493
Total rent expense on operating leases	37,745	38,780	40,678
Operating Expense
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Minimum rent on real property	35,881	36,760	37,180
Additional rent based on percentage of sales	153	176	313
Restaurant rent expense	36,034	36,936	37,493
Pre-Opening Costs
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Minimum rent on real property	861	856	2,066
General and Administrative Expense
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Minimum rent on real property	$ 850	$ 988	$ 1,119

Long-term Debt - Schedule of Lo

Long-term Debt - Schedule of Long-Term Debt (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Revolving credit facility	$ 78,000	$ 75,000
Capital leases	1,744	1,523
Long-term debt and capital lease obligations	79,744	76,523
Less: current portion of long-term debt	(108)	(98)
Long-term debt and capital lease obligations, net of current portion	$ 79,636	$ 76,425

Long-term Debt - Senior Credit

Long-term Debt - Senior Credit Facility (Details) - USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2017	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Outstanding revolving credit borrowings		$ 78,000,000	$ 75,000,000
Outstanding letters of credit		4,000,000
Revolving Credit
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Remaining borrowing capacity		$ 68,000,000
Revolving Credit | November 2017 Senior Credit Facility
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Senior credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	$ 150,000,000
Senior credit facility, maturity date	Nov. 30, 2022
Commitment fee margin		0.30%
Cross default provision, minimum debt principal amount	$ 5,000,000
Senior credit facility, issuance date	Nov. 30, 2017
Revolving Credit | November 2017 Senior Credit Facility | Alternative Base Rate
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Applicable margin		1.25%
Revolving Credit | November 2017 Senior Credit Facility | LIBOR
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Applicable margin		2.25%
Revolving Credit | November 2017 Senior Credit Facility | Maximum
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Senior credit facility, potential incremental increase	$ 50,000,000
Commitment fee margin	0.35%
Revolving Credit | November 2017 Senior Credit Facility | Maximum | Alternative Base Rate
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Applicable margin	1.50%
Revolving Credit | November 2017 Senior Credit Facility | Maximum | LIBOR
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Applicable margin	2.50%
Revolving Credit | November 2017 Senior Credit Facility | Minimum
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Commitment fee margin	0.25%
Revolving Credit | November 2017 Senior Credit Facility | Minimum | Alternative Base Rate
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Applicable margin	0.75%
Revolving Credit | November 2017 Senior Credit Facility | Minimum | LIBOR
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Applicable margin	1.75%
Letters of Credit | November 2017 Senior Credit Facility
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Senior credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	$ 15,000,000

Long-term Debt - Other Disclosu

Long-term Debt - Other Disclosures (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest expense	$ 3,966	$ 2,877	$ 2,171
Revolving Credit
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal payments required on borrowings in 2022	$ 78,000
Weighted average interest rate	4.59%	3.73%
Interest expense	$ 3,900	$ 2,700	$ 1,900

Income Taxes - Income Tax Provi

Income Taxes - Income Tax Provision (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Current:
Federal	$ (10,378)	$ (5,718)	$ 11,979
Foreign	355	346	372
State	421	445	1,865
Current	(9,602)	(4,927)	14,216
Deferred:
Federal	6,591	(1,059)	(4,908)
State	297	(1,649)	(792)
Deferred	6,888	(2,708)	(5,700)
Valuation allowance	(58)	(120)	(180)
Provision for income taxes	$ (2,772)	$ (7,755)	$ 8,336

Income Taxes - Components of De

Income Taxes - Components of Deferred Taxes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Deferred income tax assets:
Accrued vacation benefits	$ 1,017	$ 1,051
Incentive compensation	959	924
Other accruals	2,976	3,187
Deferred income on sale-leaseback of real estate	4,591	5,422
Occupancy costs	6,038	6,669
Tax credit carryforwards	1,534	883
Property and equipment depreciation	0	1,665
Federal net operating loss	1,040	0
Other	839	1,073
Gross deferred income tax assets	18,994	20,874
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Property and equipment depreciation	(5,438)	0
Amortization of other intangibles, net	(2,121)	(2,094)
Other	(374)	(812)
Gross deferred income tax liabilities	(7,933)	(2,906)
Less: Valuation allowance	(678)	(736)
Net deferred income tax assets	$ 10,383	$ 17,232

Income Taxes - Narrative (Detai

Income Taxes - Narrative (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Valuation allowance		$ 736,000	$ 678,000	$ 736,000
Change in valuation allowance			$ (58,000)	$ (120,000)	$ (180,000)
Effective income tax rate			(55.30%)	17.60%	33.30%
Change in federal income tax rate and tax methods	$ 3,900,000	9,000,000	$ (3,977,000)	$ 8,952,000	$ 0
Unrecognized tax benefits		0	0	0
Accrued interest related to uncertain tax positions		0	0	0
Tax benefits related to a federal net operating loss		$ 0	1,040,000	0
Tax benefits related to employment tax credits			(897,000)	$ (914,000)	$ (905,000)
Deferred tax benefit related to state net operating loss carryforwards			$ 200,000

Income Taxes - Income Tax Rate

Income Taxes - Income Tax Rate Reconciliation (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Statutory federal income tax provision (benefit)			$ 1,053	$ (15,394)	$ 8,767
State income taxes, net of federal benefit			552	(734)	689
Change in valuation allowance			(58)	(120)	(180)
Change in federal income tax rate and tax methods	$ 3,900	$ 9,000	(3,977)	8,952	0
Net share-based compensation-tax benefit deficiencies			178	228	0
Non-deductible expenses			53	84	(3)
Foreign taxes			355	346	372
Employment tax credits			(897)	(914)	(905)
Foreign tax credits/deductions			(75)	(121)	(372)
Other			44	(82)	(32)
Provision for income taxes			$ (2,772)	$ (7,755)	$ 8,336

Stockholders' Equity - Purchase

Stockholders' Equity - Purchase of Treasury Stock (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Feb. 26, 2018
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]
Number of shares authorized to be repurchased		1,500,000
Treasury stock purchases (in shares)	112,358
Treasury stock purchases	$ 2,769

Stockholders' Equity - Stock-Ba

Stockholders' Equity - Stock-Based Compensation (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018USD ($)tranche$ / sharesshares	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)daytranche$ / sharesshares	Jan. 01, 2017USD ($)$ / sharesshares
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate number of shares of stock authorized for distribution	3,300,000
Number of shares available for future grants	1,615,389
Stock-based compensation | $	$ 3.5	$ 3.5	$ 3.3
Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense | $	4.9
Fair value of the shares vested and released | $	$ 2.5	$ 2.1	$ 5.2
Nonvested Restricted Shares
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate number of shares granted in period	192,937
Weighted average grant date fair value, grants in period (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 19.02
Remaining weighted average vesting period	2 years 4 months 24 days
Nonvested Restricted Shares | Employee
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate number of shares granted in period	161,791	182,522	50,087
Vesting period	4 years	4 years	4 years
Weighted average grant date fair value, grants in period (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 18.70	$ 20.75	$ 35.25
Nonvested Restricted Shares | Consultant
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Vesting period	3 years
Nonvested Restricted Shares | Director
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate number of shares granted in period	31,146	38,596	14,081
Weighted average grant date fair value, grants in period (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 20.71	$ 21.25	$ 33.39
Nonvested Restricted Shares | Director | Vesting 1
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Vesting period	1 year	1 year	1 year
Nonvested Restricted Shares | Director | Vesting 2
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Vesting period	5 years
Performance-Based Restricted Stock
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate number of shares granted in period			33,691
Vesting period			4 years
Weighted average grant date fair value, grants in period (usd per share) | $ / shares			$ 35.25
Restricted Stock Units
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate number of shares granted in period	112,169
Weighted average grant date fair value, grants in period (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 6.96
Remaining weighted average vesting period	1 year 1 month 6 days
Restricted Stock Units | Employee
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate number of shares granted in period		11,745	5,762
Vesting period		4 years	4 years
Weighted average grant date fair value, grants in period (usd per share) | $ / shares		$ 20.75	$ 35.25
Market Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate number of shares granted in period	112,169	92,171
Market Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Chief Executive Officer
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate number of shares granted in period		72,290
Vesting period		4 years
Weighted average grant date fair value, grants in period (usd per share) | $ / shares		$ 12.90
Number of tranches | tranche		4
Threshold consecutive trading days | day		20
Market Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Chief Executive Officer | Minimum
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares to be issued at end of performance period		0
Market Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Chief Executive Officer | Maximum
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares to be issued at end of performance period		72,290
Market Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Executive Officer
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate number of shares granted in period	112,169	19,881
Vesting period	3 years	3 years
Weighted average grant date fair value, grants in period (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 6.96	$ 9.31
Number of tranches | tranche	3
Market Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Executive Officer | Minimum
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares to be issued at end of performance period	0	0
Market Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Executive Officer | Maximum
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares to be issued at end of performance period	112,169	19,881
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Aggregate number of shares granted in period			33,691
Vesting period			3 years
Weighted average grant date fair value, grants in period (usd per share) | $ / shares			$ 35.25
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Minimum
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares to be issued at end of performance period			0
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Maximum
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares to be issued at end of performance period			67,382

Stockholders' Equity - Nonveste

Stockholders' Equity - Nonvested Shares and Restricted Stock Units Activity Table (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018$ / sharesshares
Non-Vested Shares
Non-Vested Shares and Restricted Stock Units
Outstanding at beginning of period (in shares) | shares	239,500
Granted (in shares) | shares	192,937
Vested/Released (in shares) | shares	(113,548)
Forfeited (in shares) | shares	(31,023)
Outstanding at end of period (in shares) | shares	287,866
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Outstanding at beginning of period (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 24.81
Granted (usd per share) | $ / shares	19.02
Vested/Released (usd per share) | $ / shares	25.15
Forfeited (usd per share) | $ / shares	22.08
Outstanding at end of period (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 20.70
Restricted Stock Units
Non-Vested Shares and Restricted Stock Units
Outstanding at beginning of period (in shares) | shares	143,946
Granted (in shares) | shares	112,169
Vested/Released (in shares) | shares	(10,385)
Forfeited (in shares) | shares	(14,618)
Outstanding at end of period (in shares) | shares	231,112
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Outstanding at beginning of period (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 23.11
Granted (usd per share) | $ / shares	6.96
Vested/Released (usd per share) | $ / shares	45.82
Forfeited (usd per share) | $ / shares	51.86
Outstanding at end of period (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 12.44

Stockholders' Equity - Restrict

Stockholders' Equity - Restricted Stock Units Subject to Market Conditions (Details) - Market Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) - $ / shares	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Executive Officer
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Grant date stock price (usd per share)	$ 18.70	$ 17.60
Fair value at grant date (usd per share)	$ 6.96	$ 9.31
Risk free interest rate	2.40%	1.51%
Expected term (in years)	3 years	2 years 6 months
Dividend yield	0.00%	0.00%
Expected volatility	41.49%	41.72%
Chief Executive Officer
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Grant date stock price (usd per share)		$ 22.55
Fair value at grant date (usd per share)		$ 12.90
Risk free interest rate		1.52%
Expected term (in years)		3 years 9 months 18 days
Dividend yield		0.00%
Expected volatility		39.06%

Business Segment Information -

Business Segment Information - Segment Reporting Information, by Segment (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2018USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2018USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2017USD ($)	Jul. 02, 2017USD ($)	Apr. 02, 2017USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2018USD ($)segment	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2017USD ($)
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Number of operating segments | segment									2
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 167,638	$ 174,648	$ 176,827	$ 169,484	$ 162,210	$ 158,691	$ 172,624	$ 175,607	$ 688,597	$ 669,132	$ 711,770
Cost of sales									218,946	202,888	214,609
Restaurant wages and related expenses									188,131	184,742	185,305
Restaurant rent expense									36,034	36,936	37,493
Other restaurant operating expenses									100,828	98,927	96,457
Advertising expense									23,695	26,091	26,800
General and administrative expense									54,525	59,633	54,826
Adjusted EBITDA									67,962	67,445	96,567
Depreciation and amortization									37,604	34,957	36,776
Capital expenditures									57,850	55,866	82,365
Identifiable assets	418,659				423,313				418,659	423,313	441,565
Stock-based compensation									3,500	3,500	3,300
Restaurant Wages And Related Expenses
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation									90	52	142
General and Administrative Expense
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation									3,379	3,493	3,141
Restaurant Sales
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									685,925	666,584	708,956
Franchise Revenue
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									2,672	2,548	2,814
Operating Segments | Pollo Tropical
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Cost of sales									123,042	117,493	126,539
Restaurant wages and related expenses									87,025	88,587	93,958
Restaurant rent expense									17,457	18,949	19,998
Other restaurant operating expenses									51,757	52,848	54,198
Advertising expense									13,068	16,397	14,819
General and administrative expense									29,621	33,025	32,638
Adjusted EBITDA									54,903	50,937	58,286
Depreciation and amortization									21,372	21,758	23,587
Capital expenditures									27,667	31,786	65,789
Identifiable assets	207,435				227,194				207,435	227,194	263,868
Operating Segments | Pollo Tropical | Restaurant Wages And Related Expenses
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation									34	(4)	69
Operating Segments | Pollo Tropical | General and Administrative Expense
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation									1,885	1,983	1,793
Operating Segments | Pollo Tropical | Restaurant Sales
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									374,381	372,328	399,736
Operating Segments | Pollo Tropical | Franchise Revenue
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									1,815	1,787	2,062
Operating Segments | Taco Cabana
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Cost of sales									95,904	85,395	88,070
Restaurant wages and related expenses									101,106	96,155	91,347
Restaurant rent expense									18,577	17,987	17,495
Other restaurant operating expenses									49,071	46,079	42,259
Advertising expense									10,627	9,694	11,981
General and administrative expense									24,904	26,608	21,366
Adjusted EBITDA									13,059	16,508	38,281
Depreciation and amortization									16,232	13,199	13,189
Capital expenditures									28,886	20,781	13,206
Identifiable assets	174,681				167,237				174,681	167,237	165,195
Operating Segments | Taco Cabana | Restaurant Wages And Related Expenses
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation									56	56	73
Operating Segments | Taco Cabana | General and Administrative Expense
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation									1,494	1,510	1,348
Operating Segments | Taco Cabana | Restaurant Sales
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									311,544	294,256	309,220
Operating Segments | Taco Cabana | Franchise Revenue
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									857	761	752
Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Cost of sales									0	0	0
Restaurant wages and related expenses									0	0	0
Restaurant rent expense									0	0	0
Other restaurant operating expenses									0	0	0
Advertising expense									0	0	0
General and administrative expense									0	0	822
Adjusted EBITDA									0	0	0
Depreciation and amortization									0	0	0
Capital expenditures									1,297	3,299	3,370
Identifiable assets	$ 36,543				$ 28,882				36,543	28,882	12,502
Other | Restaurant Wages And Related Expenses
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation									0	0	0
Other | General and Administrative Expense
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation									0	0	0
Other | Restaurant Sales
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									0	0	0
Other | Franchise Revenue
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									$ 0	$ 0	$ 0

Business Segment Information _2

Business Segment Information - Reconciliation of Consolidated Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jul. 01, 2018	Apr. 01, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Oct. 01, 2017	Jul. 02, 2017	Apr. 02, 2017	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net income (loss)	$ (7,937)	$ 2,047	$ 9,493	$ 4,184	$ (10,755)	$ (8,257)	$ (2,160)	$ (15,060)	$ 7,787	$ (36,232)	$ 16,712
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									(2,772)	(7,755)	8,336
Income (loss) before income taxes									5,015	(43,987)	25,048
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Depreciation and amortization									37,604	34,957	36,776
Impairment and other lease charges	$ 14,600	$ 6,400	$ 800	$ (700)	$ 2,700	$ 15,900	$ 10,800	$ 32,400	21,144	61,760	25,644
Interest expense									3,966	2,877	2,171
Other expense (income), net									(3,007)	2,190	1,130
Stock-based compensation expense									3,500	3,500	3,300
Unused pre-production costs in advertising expense										410
Total non-general and administrative expense adjustments									59,797	102,246	65,863
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									3,500	3,500	3,300
Terminated capital project										849
Board and shareholder matter costs									(597)	3,049	1,580
Restructuring, relocation and retentions costs										(152)	539
Legal settlements and related costs									(177)	(473)	310
Total general and administrative expense adjustments									3,150	9,186	5,656
Adjusted EBITDA									67,962	67,445	96,567
Renewal Plan
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Restructuring, relocation and retentions costs									545	2,420	86
Restaurant Wages And Related Expenses
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									90	52	142
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									90	52	142
General and Administrative Expense
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									3,379	3,493	3,141
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									3,379	3,493	3,141
Pollo Tropical
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Impairment and other lease charges									13,587	57,947	24,419
Taco Cabana
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Impairment and other lease charges									7,557	3,813	1,225
Operating Segments | Pollo Tropical
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income (loss) before income taxes									17,639	(37,831)	4,639
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Depreciation and amortization									21,372	21,758	23,587
Impairment and other lease charges									13,587	57,947	24,419
Interest expense									1,920	1,348	930
Other expense (income), net									(1,225)	2,427	1,236
Unused pre-production costs in advertising expense										322
Total non-general and administrative expense adjustments									35,688	83,798	50,241
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Terminated capital project										484
Board and shareholder matter costs									(328)	1,738	432
Restructuring, relocation and retentions costs										(152)	539
Legal settlements and related costs									(177)	(473)	597
Total general and administrative expense adjustments									1,576	4,970	3,406
Adjusted EBITDA									54,903	50,937	58,286
Operating Segments | Pollo Tropical | Renewal Plan
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Restructuring, relocation and retentions costs									196	1,390	45
Operating Segments | Pollo Tropical | Restaurant Wages And Related Expenses
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									34	(4)	69
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									34	(4)	69
Operating Segments | Pollo Tropical | General and Administrative Expense
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									1,885	1,983	1,793
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									1,885	1,983	1,793
Operating Segments | Taco Cabana
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income (loss) before income taxes									(12,624)	(6,156)	21,231
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Depreciation and amortization									16,232	13,199	13,189
Impairment and other lease charges									7,557	3,813	1,225
Interest expense									2,046	1,529	1,241
Other expense (income), net									(1,782)	(237)	(106)
Unused pre-production costs in advertising expense										88
Total non-general and administrative expense adjustments									24,109	18,448	15,622
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Terminated capital project										365
Board and shareholder matter costs									(269)	1,311	326
Restructuring, relocation and retentions costs										0	0
Legal settlements and related costs									0	0	(287)
Total general and administrative expense adjustments									1,574	4,216	1,428
Adjusted EBITDA									13,059	16,508	38,281
Operating Segments | Taco Cabana | Renewal Plan
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Restructuring, relocation and retentions costs									349	1,030	41
Operating Segments | Taco Cabana | Restaurant Wages And Related Expenses
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									56	56	73
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									56	56	73
Operating Segments | Taco Cabana | General and Administrative Expense
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									1,494	1,510	1,348
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									1,494	1,510	1,348
Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income (loss) before income taxes									0	0	(822)
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Depreciation and amortization									0	0	0
Impairment and other lease charges									0	0	0
Interest expense									0	0	0
Other expense (income), net									0	0	0
Unused pre-production costs in advertising expense										0
Total non-general and administrative expense adjustments									0	0	0
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Terminated capital project										0
Board and shareholder matter costs									0	0	822
Restructuring, relocation and retentions costs										0	0
Legal settlements and related costs									0	0	0
Total general and administrative expense adjustments									0	0	822
Adjusted EBITDA									0	0	0
Other | Renewal Plan
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Restructuring, relocation and retentions costs									0	0	0
Other | Restaurant Wages And Related Expenses
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									0	0	0
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									0	0	0
Other | General and Administrative Expense
Non-general and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									0	0	0
General and administrative expense adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense									$ 0	$ 0	$ 0

Earnings (Loss) Per Share - Nar

Earnings (Loss) Per Share - Narrative (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018shares	Jan. 01, 2017shares
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Nonvested restricted shares right to receive dividends, per share ratio to common shares	1
Restricted Stock Units
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Weighted average antidilutive securities excluded from computation of diluted earnings per share (in shares)	560	9,379

Earnings (Loss) Per Share - Com

Earnings (Loss) Per Share - Computation of Basic and Diluted Net Income per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jul. 01, 2018	Apr. 01, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Oct. 01, 2017	Jul. 02, 2017	Apr. 02, 2017	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Basic and diluted EPS:
Net income (loss)	$ (7,937)	$ 2,047	$ 9,493	$ 4,184	$ (10,755)	$ (8,257)	$ (2,160)	$ (15,060)	$ 7,787	$ (36,232)	$ 16,712
Less: income allocated to participating securities									85	0	135
Net income (loss) available to common stockholders									$ 7,702	$ (36,232)	$ 16,577
Weighted average common shares—basic									26,890,577	26,821,471	26,682,227
Restricted stock units (in shares)									3,506	0	6,952
Weighted average common shares—diluted									26,894,083	26,821,471	26,689,179
Earnings (loss) per common share—basic (usd per share)	$ (0.30)	$ 0.08	$ 0.35	$ 0.15	$ (0.40)	$ (0.31)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.56)	$ 0.29	$ (1.35)	$ 0.62
Earnings (loss) per common share—diluted (usd per share)	$ (0.30)	$ 0.08	$ 0.35	$ 0.15	$ (0.40)	$ (0.31)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.56)	$ 0.29	$ (1.35)	$ 0.62

Commitments and Contingencies -

Commitments and Contingencies - Lease Assignments (Details) $ in Millions	Dec. 30, 2018USD ($)restaurant
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Lease assignment maximum exposure | $	$ 3.6
Taco Cabana
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of subleases	3
Pollo Tropical
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of subleases	1

Commitments and Contingencies_2

Commitments and Contingencies - Legal Matters (Details) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2016USD ($)plaintiff	Jul. 01, 2018USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2018USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2017USD ($)
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Recognized reduction in legal settlement costs			$ 177	$ 473	$ (310)
Fair Labor Standards Act Legal Demand Letter
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of named individuals related to settlement | plaintiff	7
Recorded charge to cover estimated costs related to settlement	$ 800
Recognized reduction in legal settlement costs		$ 200

Commitments and Contingencies_3

Commitments and Contingencies - Contingency Related to Insurance Recoveries (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)restaurant	Dec. 30, 2018USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2017USD ($)
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Other income		$ 3,007	$ (2,190)	$ (1,130)
Taco Cabana | Loss from the Hurricanes
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Recorded expected insurance proceeds	$ 400		400
Insurance settlement proceeds		1,700
Other income		1,400
Taco Cabana | Loss from the Hurricanes | Houston
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of restaurants affected by the hurricanes | restaurant	43
Pollo Tropical | Loss from the Hurricanes
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Recorded expected insurance proceeds	$ 700		$ 700
Insurance settlement proceeds		2,800
Other income		$ 2,100
Pollo Tropical | Loss from the Hurricanes | Houston
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of restaurants affected by the hurricanes | restaurant	2

Retirement Plans (Details)

Retirement Plans (Details) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018USD ($)hour	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2017USD ($)
Minimum
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Vesting period for employer match	1 year
Required hours of service | hour	1,000
Maximum
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Employer matching contribution, percent of match		50.00%	50.00%
Vesting period for employer match	5 years
401K | Retirement Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Maximum employer contribution, percentage of eligible employee compensation	3.00%
Maximum annual contribution per employee, percent	50.00%
Retirement Plan employer matching expense	$ 0.5	$ 0.4	$ 0.3
Interest rate that can be earned by deferred amounts	8.00%
Deferred compensation, current and non-current	$ 0.9	$ 1
401K | Retirement Plan | Maximum
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Employer matching contribution, percent of match	50.00%
Employer matching contribution, percentage of employee compensation	6.00%

Selected Quarterly Financial _3

Selected Quarterly Financial and Earnings Data (Unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jul. 01, 2018	Apr. 01, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Oct. 01, 2017	Jul. 02, 2017	Apr. 02, 2017	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 167,638	$ 174,648	$ 176,827	$ 169,484	$ 162,210	$ 158,691	$ 172,624	$ 175,607	$ 688,597	$ 669,132	$ 711,770
Income (loss) from operations	(9,476)	(1,921)	13,500	6,878	(3,302)	(12,412)	(2,278)	(23,118)	8,981	(41,110)	27,219
Net income (loss)	$ (7,937)	$ 2,047	$ 9,493	$ 4,184	$ (10,755)	$ (8,257)	$ (2,160)	$ (15,060)	$ 7,787	$ (36,232)	$ 16,712
Earnings (loss) per common share—basic (usd per share)	$ (0.30)	$ 0.08	$ 0.35	$ 0.15	$ (0.40)	$ (0.31)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.56)	$ 0.29	$ (1.35)	$ 0.62
Earnings (loss) per common share—diluted (usd per share)	$ (0.30)	$ 0.08	$ 0.35	$ 0.15	$ (0.40)	$ (0.31)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.56)	$ 0.29	$ (1.35)	$ 0.62
Impairment and other lease charges	$ 14,600	$ 6,400	$ 800	$ (700)	$ 2,700	$ 15,900	$ 10,800	$ 32,400	$ 21,144	$ 61,760	$ 25,644
Change in federal income tax rate and tax methods		$ 3,900			$ 9,000				$ (3,977)	$ 8,952	$ 0

SCHEDULE II_VALUATION AND QUA_2

SCHEDULE II—VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS (Details) - Deferred income tax valuation allowance - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 01, 2017
Movement in Valuation Allowances and Reserves
Balance at beginning of period	$ 736	$ 856	$ 1,036
Charged to costs and expenses	(58)	(120)	(180)
Charged to other accounts	0	0	0
Deduction	0	0	0
Balance at end of period	$ 678	$ 736	$ 856