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