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Commercial Product and Service [Member] Licensing the intellectual properties for third-party use and wholesale sales of merchandise, including supplies and fixtures. Vesting Upon Achievement of 2018-2020 Consolidated Pre-tax Income Growth Objectives [Member] Represents the unearned shares vesting upon achievement of 2018-2020 consolidated pre-tax income. Amendment Flag Accounting Policies [Abstract] us-gaap_ComprehensiveIncomeNetOfTax Comprehensive income (loss) bbw_SegmentRevenueOfConsolidatedRevenuePercentage Segment Revenue of Consolidated Revenue, Percentage The percentage of a segment revenue of consolidated revenue. us-gaap_CumulativeEffectOfNewAccountingPrincipleInPeriodOfAdoption Adoption of new accounting standard Direct to Consumer [Member] Represents information pertaining to the direct to consumer operating segment. Gift cards and customer deposits us-gaap_IncreaseDecreaseInContractWithCustomerLiability Common stock, outstanding (in shares) Commercial [Member] Represents information pertaining to the commercial segment. International Franchising [Member] Represents information pertaining to the international franchising segment. Preferred stock, outstanding (in shares) Other Geographic Region [Member] Represents information pertaining to other geographic regions. Current Fiscal Year End Date Vesting Upon Achievement of 2017-2019 Consolidated Pre-tax Income Target [Member] Represents the unearned shares vesting upon achievement of 2017-2019 consolidated pre-tax income. Variable lease costs us-gaap_IncreaseDecreaseInPrepaidDeferredExpenseAndOtherAssets Prepaid expenses and other assets us-gaap_OperatingLeaseWeightedAverageDiscountRatePercent Operating Lease, Weighted Average Discount Rate, Percent Document Fiscal Period Focus us-gaap_OperatingLeaseCost Total Operating Lease costs Document Fiscal Year Focus Short term lease costs bbw_LitigationReceivableGross Litigation Receivable, Gross The amount of receivables before reserves in a litigation dispute. Lease, Cost [Table Text Block] Document Period End Date us-gaap_OperatingLeaseWeightedAverageRemainingLeaseTerm1 Operating Lease, Weighted Average Remaining Lease Term Entity Emerging Growth Company bbw_LitigationReceivablesReserve Litigation Receivables, Reserve The amount of reserve receivables in a litigation dispute. Document Type bbw_LitigationReceivablesNet Litigation Receivables, Net The amount of receivables after reserve in a litigation dispute. Entity Small Business Document Information [Line Items] Document Information [Table] Entity Filer Category Entity Current Reporting Status Segments [Axis] Segments [Domain] us-gaap_IncreaseDecreaseInReceivables Receivables, net us-gaap_SharePrice Share Price us-gaap_AntidilutiveSecuritiesExcludedFromComputationOfEarningsPerShareAmount Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount Diluted (in shares) us-gaap_WeightedAverageNumberOfDilutedSharesOutstanding Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - dilutive (in shares) Stock-based compensation us-gaap_AdjustmentsToAdditionalPaidInCapitalSharebasedCompensationRequisiteServicePeriodRecognitionValue Entity Central Index Key Entity Registrant Name Entity [Domain] us-gaap_CapitalizedContractCostAmortizationPeriod Capitalized Contract Cost, Amortization Period Legal Entity [Axis] Statement [Table] Statement of Financial Position [Abstract] Diluted (in dollars per share) Diluted income (loss) per common share attributable to Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. stockholders (in dollars per share) us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueThereafter Subsequent to 2023 Basic (in shares) Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - basic (in shares) Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities Disclosure [Text Block] us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDue Total us-gaap_EffectiveIncomeTaxRateContinuingOperations Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Percent, Total us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueInFourYears 2022 Basic (in dollars per share) Basic income (loss) per common share attributable to Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. stockholders (in dollars per share) us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueInFiveYears 2023 us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueInTwoYears 2020 Statement of Cash Flows [Abstract] us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueInThreeYears 2021 Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares) us-gaap_StockRepurchasedAndRetiredDuringPeriodValue Stock Repurchased and Retired During Period, Value Share repurchase and retirement us-gaap_StockRepurchasedAndRetiredDuringPeriodShares Stock Repurchased and Retired During Period, Shares us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueCurrent 2019 Income Statement [Abstract] Other comprehensive loss us-gaap_OtherComprehensiveIncomeLossNetOfTaxPortionAttributableToParent Schedule of Accrued Liabilities [Table Text Block] us-gaap_IncreaseDecreaseInInventories Inventories, net Trading Symbol Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases [Table Text Block] us-gaap_StockIssuedDuringPeriodSharesStockOptionsExercised Exercised (in shares) us-gaap_TableTextBlock Notes Tables us-gaap_GainLossOnDispositionOfAssets1 (Gain) loss on disposal of property and equipment Selling, general and administrative expense Provision for doubtful accounts Shares issued under employee stock plans us-gaap_StockIssuedDuringPeriodValueShareBasedCompensation Granted (in shares) Cash flows used in financing activities: us-gaap_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardOptionsForfeituresInPeriod Forfeited (in shares) us-gaap_EffectiveIncomeTaxRateReconciliationAtFederalStatutoryIncomeTaxRate Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, at Federal Statutory Income Tax Rate, Percent Other liabilities us-gaap_LiabilitiesAndStockholdersEquity Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity The August 2017 Share Repurchase Program [Member] Represents information pertaining the August 2017 share repurchase program. Retained earnings Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit), Ending Balance Accumulated other comprehensive loss Deferred rent Change in assets and liabilities: Deferred franchise revenue us-gaap_StockholdersEquity Total stockholders' equity Balance, beginning Balance, ending us-gaap_DisclosureTextBlockAbstract Notes to Financial Statements Operating lease liability long term Long-term lease obligations Class of Stock [Axis] us-gaap_IncomeTaxReconciliationNondeductibleExpenseShareBasedCompensationCost Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Nondeductible Expense, Share-based Payment Arrangement, Amount Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted [Table Text Block] us-gaap_OperatingLeaseLiability Present value of future minimum lease payments Total lease liabilities Schedule of Stockholders Equity [Table Text Block] Operating lease liability short term Less: current obligations under leases Current - Operating Operating lease right-of-use asset Operating lease right-of-use assets us-gaap_LesseeOperatingLeaseLiabilityPaymentsDue Total minimum lease payments us-gaap_LesseeOperatingLeaseLiabilityUndiscountedExcessAmount Less: amount of lease payments representing interest Deferred taxes 2021 2022 2023 Thereafter