Lyon's Restaurant was a chain of diner-style restaurants, similar to

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a Diner, coffee shop un ...

. Many Lyon's were in Northern California, with their corporate headquarters in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

History

Lyon's was founded in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in about 1952 by Lyons Magnus which was a Wholesaler of Syrups at the time. In 1966, it was bought by Consolidated Foods Corporation which later became

Sara Lee Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * Sara (1992 film), ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * Sara (1997 film), ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * Sara (2010 ...

; the company sold the chain in a

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...

(MBO) in 1989.Chaudhry, Raja
Sara Lee exits restaurant biz with sale of Lyon's
''Nation's Restaurant News'', 16 Jan, 1989. At the time of the MBO, Lyon's had 65 restaurants across California, Oregon and Nevada and a turnover of $100m. Not all of their restaurants were in Northern California - circa 1968 there was at least one in Southern California at La Habra Fashion Square (now Denny's) corner of Beach & Imperial Highway. The building is almost unchanged, from the exterior other than paint, it became a Denny's possibly in the 1980s. Another Lyon's was photographed in Eugene, Oregon, in 1985. This site became a Chinese buffet restaurant catering to faculty and students at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. After bankruptcy in February 1998,Anderson, Mar
Lyon's moves HQ here, licks its wounds
''Sacramento Business Journal'', 30 August 2002.0 Lyon's was acquired by ICH, an

Arby's Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants system wide and third in terms of revenue. In October 2017, '' Food & Wine'' called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain (after Subway)". Ar ...

franchisee. In January 2001, ICH sold Lyon's to Amber's Pacific Restaurants Inc.,Lyon's chain files Ch. 11 after rapid shrinkage
''Nation's Restaurant News'', 29 October, 2001 a company of San Diego restaurant owner Amber Lao. APRI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2001, blaming the economic turndown at that time. In 2002, Lyon's reorganized its 72 remaining restaurants. It sold 35 to franchisees, closed 32, and kept five in Northern California. The last Lyon's closed in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

in March, 2012. On April 25, 2015, a Lyon's opened in the old Tony Roma's at 4233 Moorpark Avenue in West San Jose. New Lyon's locations have also opened in Tracy and Stockton, California. As of 2017, the Lyon's locations in San Jose, Tracy and Stockton have permanently closed. As of August 2022, Lyons has plant locations in Wisconsin, Kentucky, and California.

References

{{coord missing, Sacramento County, California Restaurants in California Restaurant franchises Companies based in Sacramento, California Restaurants established in 1952 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1998 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001 Companies disestablished in 2012 1952 establishments in California