Our History

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“The most important thing about the way we do business is customer service. Service is the key with Lyons and what we’ve always stressed. Our salesmen are courteous and helpful and always willing to help their customers sell more.”
William E. E. Davis, Sr.

1920s

1923

Lyons Specialty Company is founded and begins operating at 409 North 7th Street in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (This location would later become the studio of famed Louisiana photographer Fonville Winans.)

1920s

1940s

1945

While working as an internal auditor for Louisiana State University, William E. Davis, Sr. gently steps into the wholesale business by selling $0.10 pecan rolls to local stores from the storage room behind his garage on Arlington Ave. Davis names his side-business Baton Rouge Wholesale Candy Company.

1946

On June 8^th, Davis purchases Lyons Specialty Company from the widow of its founder for $7,690.61, leaving him a total of $75 in the business bank account.
Davis decides to continue operating under the name Lyons Specialty Company because he worries a name change might cause existing Lyons customers to go elsewhere.
Davis leaves his position at the university to concentrate on the candy business – there just isn’t time enough in one day to do two jobs. His wife, Jane Maddox Davis, also leaves her job at the State Department of Public Welfare and joins him in their family business.
Davis’ brothers-in-law, Willis and Lynch Maddox, are discharged from the service and join him and his wife as business partners.
Wholesale products offered consist mostly of candy and tobacco products along with a few sundries.
The partnership starts AA Vending Machine, a full-service company providing and servicing vending machines across Baton Rouge and the surrounding communities.
Davis reaches out to a friend at the Esso Refinery (now Exxon) and strikes a deal to place candy and cigarette vending machines at the refinery.
Lyons quickly claims the position of largest candy wholesaler in the area. Operations consist of eight panel trucks and five automobiles, serving 800 accounts within a 60-mile radius.

1940s

1950s

1950

AA Vending operates more than 1,000 vending machines in refineries, chemical plants, hospitals and other businesses across the Baton Rouge metro area.
Mason Mint Digest names Lyons Specialty Company Jobber of the Month and publishes a feature article on Davis’ family-run business.
Davis expands his ability to service customers by establishing relationships with the era’s most popular brands including Hershey’s, Kellogg’s, and Nabisco.

1955

Davis moves his business operation to a 10,200 square foot warehouse.

1950s

1970s

1976

Lyons Specialty Company is incorporated as Lyons Specialty Company, Inc.

1977

Lyons Specialty Company, Inc. is featured in National Candy Wholesaler, a national trade magazine for the candy and tobacco distributor industry. Unlike many in the industry, Lyons continues to operate with no computers, no conveyor systems, and very few flow racks. Orders are still written by hand and extended by the salesmen, picked using large shopping carts and assembled at a large table. Truck drivers often double as pickers.

1979

Jane Dunlap, Davis’ daughter, joins Lyons with the responsibility of maintaining accounting for the vending revenues.
At Dunlap’s urging, Davis reluctantly invests in upgrading its single-line rotary dial phone system to a more modern one that has the capability of transferring calls from one phone to another.

1970s

1980s

1983

Dunlap convinces Davis to purchase Lyons first computer – a single system used only for inputting inventory.
Lyons Specialty Company, Inc purchases Dixie Company in Hammond, Louisiana.

1985

The company achieves record annual sales of $5.5 million.
The warehouse doubles in size to 20,000 square feet.

1980s

1990s

1993

Grandson of Davis and son of Dunlap, Hugh Raetzsch, Jr. earns a degree in Business Management from LSU and begins his full-time career with the family business. Raetzsch previously worked part-time at Lyons holding positions in nearly every department and function.

1994

Lyons Specialty Company purchases Wholesale Specialty, a local rack jobber supplying convenience and small grocery stores with health and beauty care items along with general merchandise. This purchase significantly expands the products carried by Lyons and creates the foundation for future growth and success.

1995

Lyons annual sales top $21 million.

1996

Davis retires from his role and his daughter Jane Dunlap takes over as President and Chair of the Board of Lyons.

1999

Lyons purchases land (a portion of a former sugarcane field) on the west bank of the Mississippi River in Port Allen and constructs a new warehouse and office building. The location provides quick access to Interstate 10 and the two bridges that serve as the main crossing points of the river.

1990s

2000s

2002

Raetzsch is one of the Top 40 Business People in Baton Rouge area under 40 years old.

2005

Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans and creates a huge growth period for Lyons.
Annual sales hit $68 million.

2009

Dave d’Aquin, Lyons vice president, longtime family friend and employee of 40+ years passes away at age 59.
After a long life and career, Davis dies in February at age 96.
Dunlap assumes sole ownership of Lyons Specialty Company, Inc.
Lyons purchases long time Monroe, La distributor, Ouachita Distributing Company.

2000s

2010s

2012

Ownership passes from Jane Dunlap to her son Hugh Raetzsch, Jr., solidifying the third generation of family ownership.
Lyons Specialty Company, Inc. becomes Lyons Specialty Company, LLC.
Lyons is one of Louisiana State University’s Top 100 Alumni Owned Businesses.

2013

Raetzsch is Chairman of the American Wholesale Marketers Association (now the Convenience Distribution Association).

2014

Lyons sells AA Vending Service and begins to focus solely on wholesale distribution.
Lyons is again one of Louisiana State University’s Top 100 Alumni Owned Businesses.

2015

Annual sales reach nearly $130 million.
For the third time in four years, Lyons is one of Louisiana State University’s Top 100 Alumni Owned Businesses.

2016

Lyons is one of Louisiana State University’s Top 100 Alumni Owned Businesses for the fourth time.

2019

The 3-year expansion project of the current facility in Port Allen, Louisiana is complete, doubling the size of the office and warehouse and tripling the size of the freezer/refrigerator.