Statement of Financial Position [Abstract] Cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period Cash and cash equivalents, end of period Inventories Receivables Prepaid expenses and other current assets Deferred tax assets Total current assets Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $183,841; $177,512 and $179,915, respectively Property and equipment, net Property and equipment, accumulated depreciation (in Dollars) Other intangible assets, net Other assets, net Total Assets Total Assets, by segments Accounts payable Accrued expenses Gift cards and customer deposits Deferred revenue Deferred tax liability Total current liabilities Deferred franchise revenue Deferred rent Other liabilities Preferred stock, par value $0.01, Shares authorized: 15,000,000; No shares issued or outstanding at September 27, 2014, December 28, 2013 and September 28, 2013 Preferred stock, par value (in Dollars per share) Preferred stock, shares authorized Preferred stock, shares issued Preferred stock, shares outstanding Common stock, par value $0.01, Shares authorized: 50,000,000; Issued and outstanding: 17,383,428; 17,386,920 and 17,364,772 shares, respectively Common stock, par value (in Dollars per share) Common stock, shares authorized Common stock, shares issued Common stock, shares outstanding Additional paid-in capital Accumulated other comprehensive loss Retained earnings Total stockholders' equity Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity Income Statement [Abstract] Net retail sales Franchise fees Commercial revenue Total revenues Net sales to external customers Net sales to external customers Cost of merchandise sold Selling, general and administrative Interest expense (income), net Total costs and expenses Income (loss) before income taxes Income (loss) before income taxes Income tax expense Net income (loss) Net income (loss) Net income (loss) before allocation of earnings to participating securities Foreign currency translation adjustment Comprehensive income (loss) Basic (in Dollars per share) Basic income (loss) per common share attributable to Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. stockholders Diluted (in Dollars per share) Diluted income (loss) per common share attributable to Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. stockholders Basic (in Shares) Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - basic Diluted (in Shares) Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - dilutive Statement of Cash Flows [Abstract] Depreciation and amortization Depreciation and amortization Stock-based compensation Deferred taxes Impairment of store assets Trade credit utilization Loss on disposal of property and equipment Inventories Receivables Prepaid expenses and other assets Accounts payable and accrued expenses Lease related liabilities Gift cards and customer deposits Deferred revenue Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities Purchases of property and equipment Purchases of other assets and other intangible assets Purchases of short term investments Cash used in investing activities Proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options, net of withholding tax payments Purchases of Company's common stock Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities Effect of exchange rates on cash Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents Disclosure Text Block [Abstract] Prepaid Expenses And Other Assets [Abstract] Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets [Abstract] Prepaid rent Other Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract] Payables and Accruals [Abstract] Accrued Expenses [Abstract] Accrued wages, bonuses and related expenses Sales tax payable Accrued rent and related expenses Current income taxes payable Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract] Summary of the Balance and Activity for the Plans Related to Stock Options [Abstract] Outstanding, December 28, 2013 Outstanding, September 27, 2014 Outstanding, December 28, 2013 Outstanding, September 27, 2014 Granted Granted Vested Exercised Forfeited Forfeited Canceled or expired Award Type [Axis] Restricted Stock [Member] Employee Stock Option [Member] Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] Earnings Per Share [Abstract] Computation Basic and Diluted Earnings per Common Share [Abstract] Less: Earnings allocated to participating securities Net income (loss) after allocation of earnings to participating securities Dilutive effect of share-based awards Segment Reporting [Abstract] Financial Information for the Company’s Reportable Segments [Abstract] Capital expenditures, net Segments [Axis] Retail [Member] International Franchising [Member] Commercial [Member] Sales to External Customers and Long-lived Assets by Geographic Area [Abstract] Geographical [Axis] North America [Member] Europe [Member] Other Geographic Region [Member] Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] Subsequent Events [Abstract] ASSETS Current assets: LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Stockholders' equity: Revenues: Costs and expenses: Earnings (loss) per common share: Shares used in computing common per share amounts: Cash flows from operating activities: Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities: Change in assets and liabilities: Cash flows from investing activities: Cash flows from financing activities: Business Description and Basis of Presentation [Text Block] Prepaid Expenses And Other Assets [Text Block] Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Table Text Block] Property, Plant and Equipment Disclosure [Text Block] Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities Disclosure [Text Block] Schedule of Accrued Liabilities [Table Text Block] Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block] Schedule of Nonvested Share Activity [Table Text Block] Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block] Earnings Per Share [Text Block] Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted [Table Text Block] NUMERATOR: DENOMINATOR: Comprehensive Income (Loss) Note [Text Block] Segment Reporting Disclosure [Text Block] Schedule of Segment Reporting Information, by Segment [Table Text Block] Thirteen weeks ended September 28, 2013 Thirty-nine weeks ended September 27, 2014 Thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2013 Total Assets as of: Schedule of Revenue from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets, by Geographical Areas [Table Text Block] Thirteen weeks ended September 28, 2013 Thirty-nine weeks ended September 27, 2014 Thirty-nine weeks ended September 28, 2013 Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] Description of New Accounting Pronouncements Not yet Adopted [Text Block] Subsequent Events [Text Block] Impaired Long-Lived Assets Held and Used by Type [Axis] Property and Equipment [Member] Income Statement Location [Axis] Selling, General and Administrative Expenses [Member] Options and Restricted Stock [Member] Antidilutive Securities [Axis] Equity Option [Member] Subsequent Event Type [Axis] Subsequent Event [Member] Impairment of Long-Lived Assets to be Disposed of Allocated Share-based Compensation Expense Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Nonvested Awards, Compensation Cost Not yet Recognized Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Nonvested Awards, Compensation Cost Not yet Recognized, Period for Recognition Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Vested in Period, Fair Value Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Percent Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount Translation Adjustment Functional to Reporting Currency, Loss (Gain), Reclassified to Earnings, Net of Tax Number of Operating Segments Number of Reportable Segments Receivable Disputed Duty Paid Treasury Stock, Shares, Acquired (in Shares) Treasury Stock, Value, Acquired, Cost Method Stock Repurchase Program, Remaining Authorized Repurchase Amount Equity Award [Domain] Note 5 - Stock-based Compensation (Details) - Summary of the Balance and Activity for the Plans Related to Stock Options [Table] Note 5 - Stock-based Compensation (Details) - Summary of the Balance and Activity for the Plans Related to Stock Options [Line Items] Segments [Domain] Schedule of Segment Reporting Information, by Segment [Table] Segment Reporting Information [Line Items] Geographical [Domain] Schedule of Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Table] Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items] Income Statement Location [Domain] Impaired Long-Lived Assets Held and Used, Asset Name [Domain] Note 3 - Property and Equipment (Details) [Table] Note 3 - Property and Equipment (Details) [Line Items] Note 5 - Stock-based Compensation (Details) [Table] Note 5 - Stock-based Compensation (Details) [Line Items] Antidilutive Securities, Name [Domain] Note 7 - Net Income (Loss) per Share (Details) [Table] Note 7 - Net Income (Loss) per Share (Details) [Line Items] Subsequent Event Type [Domain] Note 12 - Subsequent Event (Details) [Table] Note 12 - Subsequent Event (Details) [Line Items] Revenue earned during the period from consideration received for transactions with other businesses, mainly through wholesale transactions and licensing of intellectual properties for third-party use. Change in liability related to deferred and accrued rent in the reporting period. The entire disclosure for prepaid expenses and other current assets. The cash outflow or inflow resulting from the exercised employee stock options, net of the tax payments for withholding. The amount of disputed duty paid and is included in receivables. Commercial [Member] Deferred Tax Assets And Liabilities [Member] Represents net movement between deferred tax assets and liabilities. International Franchising [Member] Options And Restricted Stock [Member] Represents such share based compensation awards as options and restricted stock. Other Geographic Region [Member] Property And Equipment [Member] Retail [Member] Document and Entity Information [Abstract] ThirteenWeeksEndedSeptember282013Abstract0 ProceedsFromPaymentsToTheExerciseOfEmployeeStockOptionsNetOfWithholdingTaxPayments ThirtyNineWeeksEndedSeptember272014Abstract0 ThirtyNineWeeksEndedSeptember282013Abstract0 Cash and Cash Equivalents, Period Increase (Decrease) Amendment Flag Deferred Revenue, Current Increase (Decrease) in Deferred Revenue Assets, Current Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities, Continuing Operations Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities, Continuing Operations Payments to Acquire Property, Plant, and Equipment Liabilities, Current Document Period End Date Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding, Number Payments to Acquire Intangible Assets Increase (Decrease) in Gift Card Liability Increase (Decrease) in Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Expirations in Period Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax, Attributable to Parent Payments to Acquire Short-term Investments Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders, Basic Increase (Decrease) in Prepaid Expense and Other Assets Share-based Compensation Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding Increase (Decrease) in Receivables Entity Central Index Key Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Parent Preferred Stock, Value, Issued Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer Entity Current Reporting Status Interest Income (Expense), Nonoperating, Net Payments for Repurchase of Common Stock Entity Registrant Name Entity Voluntary Filers Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets Entity Filer Category Document Fiscal Year Focus Entity Public Float Liabilities and Equity Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Nonvested, Number Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Forfeited in Period Document Fiscal Period Focus Current Fiscal Year End Date Earnings Per Share, Diluted Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other than Options, Grants in Period Amendment Description Costs and Expenses Document Type Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities, Continuing Operations Stockholders' Equity Attributable to Parent Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes, Extraordinary Items, Noncontrolling Interest Increase (Decrease) in Inventories Statement [Table] Statement [Line Items] Scenario [Axis]