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

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,400 Restaurant, restaurants in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and several other internationa ...

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

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

History

Lyon's was founded in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

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; 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 buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...

(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. Around 1968, there was at least one in Southern California, in La Habra's Fashion Square. The location is now a Denny's Diner and sits near the northeast corner of South Beach Boulevard & West Imperial Highway. The exterior of the building is almost unchanged (other than being painted a different color). It was a Honey's Diner location until the late 1990s or early 2000s. 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 university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. 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 restaurant, fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants. The flagship property of Inspire Brands, it ranked third in systemwide sales in the United States in the quick-service and fast-ca ...

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

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

{{Reflist Restaurants in California Defunct restaurant chains in the United States 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 Restaurants disestablished in 2012 1952 establishments in California