J. Lyons and Co.
J. Lyons and Co. was a United Kingdom company which ran the Lyons Corner Houses chain of tea rooms that flourished in the 1950s. They were popular with the working classes who would typically stop by carrying shopping and with the children in tow. Service was to the table by uniformed waitresses. Many of the tea rooms were noted for their art deco style. In the post-war gloom, the Corner Houses provided a degree of escapist relaxation. It fell on hard economic times in the late 80s and was sold off, eventually being broken up with its ice cream and ice lolly products being sold to Nestlé.
They were the first user of programmable digital computers in business, with the LEO I digital computer: the Lyons Electronic Office I, designed and built by John Simmons. The computer handled the company's accounts and logistics but lack of ambition and investment meant that the computer was soon overtaken by that of companies such as IBM.
J. Lyons' papers are now stored in the London Metropolitan Archives.
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