Lyon's

Lyon's Restaurant was a chain of diner-style restaurants. Many Lyon's were in Northern California, with their corporate headquarters in Sacramento.

Lyon's was founded in San Francisco^[1] 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 (MBO) in 1989.^[2] At the time of the MBO, Lyon's had 65 restaurants across California, Oregon and Nevada and a turnover of $100m.^[2]

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.^[3] This site became a Chinese buffet restaurant catering to faculty and students at the University of Oregon.

After bankruptcy in February 1998,^[4] Lyon's was acquired by ICH, an Arby's franchisee. In January 2001, ICH sold Lyon's to Amber's Pacific Restaurants Inc.,^[5] a company of San Diego restaurant owner Amber Lao. APRI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2001,^[4] 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.^[6]

The last Lyon's closed in Sacramento in March, 2012.^[7]