Lyon's
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lyon's of California Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1952? in San Francisco, USA |
| Headquarters | Sacramento, California |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Website | www.lyonsrestaurants.com |
Lyon's of California Inc. is a chain of diner-style restaurants, similar to Denny's. Their sites are all in Northern California, with their corporate headquarters in Sacramento.
[edit] History
Lyon's was founded in San Francisco in about 1952.[citation needed] In 1966 it was bought by Sara Lee, which sold the chain in an MBO in 1989.[1] At the time of the MBO, Lyon's had 65 restaurants across California, Oregon and Nevada and a turnover of $100m.[1]
After bankruptcy in February 1998[2] Lyon's was acquired by ICH, an Arby's franchisee. In January 2001 ICH sold Lyon's to Amber's Pacific Restaurants Inc.,[3] a company of San Diego restaurant owner Amber Lao. APRI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2001,[2] blaming the economic turndown at that time.
[edit] Locations
By the time of the Chapter 11 in 2001, Lyon's had 72 restaurants[2]. 35 were sold to franchisees, and 32 were closed.[2] Since then some franchisees have been lost to other restaurant brands, including Sizzler.[4]
The Lyon's company itself retained just 5 units, all in Northern California - Carmichael, Grass Valley, Sacramento, South San Francisco and Yuba City.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Chaudhry, Rajan Sara Lee exits restaurant biz with sale of Lyon's, Nation's Restaurant News, 16 Jan, 1989.
- ^ a b c d e Anderson, Mark Lyon's moves HQ here, licks its wounds, Sacramento Business Journal, 30 August, 2002.
- ^ Lyon's chain files Ch. 11 after rapid shrinkage Nation's Restaurant News, 29 Oct, 2001
- ^ Sizzler: Lyon's group to reflag 10 Calif. units - News - Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc. has signed T. Dhillon Inc. to 10-unit conversion deal - Nation's Restaurant News, 10 Feb, 2003.
