Lee's Sandwiches

Lee's Sandwiches is an American Vietnamese fast-food and bakery-café chain headquartered in San Jose, California. The family-owned business is associated with bánh mì, European-style baguette sandwiches, Vietnamese iced coffee, and Vietnamese desserts such as chè. Its restaurants have traditionally concentrated in communities with substantial Vietnamese American populations, while its bakery-café format has also sought to attract customers beyond the Vietnamese community. The business grew out of the Lê family's experience as Vietnamese refugees and food-service operators. Before the Vietnam War, the family owned a sugar refinery in An Giang Province, Vietnam. After immigrating to the United States as boat people in July 1979, family members lived briefly in New Mexico and Monterey before settling in San Jose in 1980. Chieu Le first worked as a cook and then purchased a food truck in 1981. With his wife Yen, he sold a broad lunch menu that included hamburgers, burritos, chow mein, and bánh mì. Chieu's brother Henry later acquired another truck, and the brothers established a mobile catering and distribution operation under the name Lee Bros. Foodservice, serving hundreds of food trucks by the middle of the 1980s. The Lee's Sandwiches restaurant concept emerged from a weekend operation run by Chieu and Henry's parents, Lê Văn Bá and Nguyễn Thị Hạnh. In 1983, they used Chieu's truck to sell bánh mì near San Jose State University at Sixth and Santa Clara streets. The popularity of the truck led to complaints from neighboring restaurants but also demonstrated demand for a permanent shop. The family opened a traditional Vietnamese sandwich store at the location in June 1983 and moved it to a larger site near King and Tully roads in East San Jose in 1988. A major transformation came on August 8, 2001, when Chieu Le and his son Minh opened the family's first American-style bakery-café in Westminster, California's Little Saigon. The expanded concept combined Vietnamese sandwiches with deli offerings, coffee, and desserts, presenting the food in a format intended to be accessible to both Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese customers. Despite disagreements within the family about the new direction, the store performed well. The chain added seven more locations within a year and expanded into additional California cities. In 2005, Lee's Sandwiches became the first Vietnamese deli-café in its market to franchise. The chain expanded beyond California during the 2000s and 2010s. It opened a large Houston restaurant in March 2006, entered Ho Chi Minh City through a joint venture in August 2008, and opened a Taipei location near Taipei station in August 2015. By 2018, it had 59 United States locations across states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. The company also entered mainstream malls and shopping centers, including Westminster Mall, Eastport Plaza in Portland, and food courts at Asian Garden Mall and Cali Saigon Mall. In 2017, the family added Lee's Coffee Roastery beside a Westminster Lee's Sandwiches restaurant. The brand's significance lies in helping bring Vietnamese sandwiches and iced coffee into the U.S. fast-food mainstream while maintaining links to Vietnamese American neighborhoods and family entrepreneurship.

Lee's Sandwiches traces its origins to the Lê family's displacement from Vietnam and its early work in American mobile food service. Before the Vietnam War, the family operated a sugar refinery in An Giang Province. The family immigrated to the United States as boat people in July 1979, lived for short periods in New Mexico and Monterey, and settled in San Jose in 1980. Chieu Le began as a cook and purchased a food truck in 1981. With his wife Yen, he served office workers hamburgers, burritos, chow mein, and bánh mì. His brother Henry acquired another truck in 1982. Together, the brothers developed a mobile catering and food-distribution operation called Lee Bros. Foodservice, Inc.; the anglicized surname in the company name helped create the Lee's identity. By 1985, the operation reportedly supplied more than 500 food trucks, many operated by Vietnamese immigrants. The restaurant brand developed in 1983 when Chieu and Henry's parents, Lê Văn Bá and Nguyễn Thị Hạnh, began using Chieu's truck on weekends to sell bánh mì near San Jose State University. The stand at Sixth and Santa Clara streets attracted substantial demand. After complaints from nearby restaurants, the family opened a permanent Vietnamese sandwich shop at the same corner in June 1983. In 1988, the restaurant moved to a larger space near King and Tully roads in East San Jose's Vietnamese commercial district. The decisive format change occurred on August 8, 2001, when Chieu and his son Minh opened the first American-style Lee's bakery-café in Westminster's Little Saigon. The restaurant added deli sandwiches, coffee, and desserts to the traditional Vietnamese sandwich offer. The concept was designed to reach Vietnamese customers while also making the menu approachable to non-Vietnamese consumers. Some family members initially disagreed about the change, but the new store succeeded and the chain opened seven additional locations within a year. Lee's began franchising in 2005 and expanded across the western and southern United States. In March 2006, it opened a 10,000-square-foot Houston restaurant, described as its largest at the time. International growth followed through a joint-venture café in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City in August 2008 and a Taipei location near Taipei station in August 2015. In 2017, the family added Lee's Coffee Roastery next to a Westminster restaurant. By 2018, the chain had 59 United States locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. Its locations included conventional restaurants, mall food courts, and shopping-center units. The brand's expansion is notable not only as a family-business success but also for its role in popularizing bánh mì and Vietnamese iced coffee among mainstream American consumers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, its restaurants followed the wider industry shift away from dine-in service and continued offering takeaway and pickup.

1. 2018The chain reaches 59 United States locations

   Reported locations covered eight states, with restaurants in Vietnamese American communities, malls, food courts, and shopping centers.

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2. 2017Lee's Coffee Roastery launches

   The family opened a coffee-roasting café next to a Westminster Lee's Sandwiches location.

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3. 2015Taipei location opens

   Lee's Sandwiches opened a location near Taipei station.

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4. 2008Ho Chi Minh City expansion

   A café opened in District 1 through a joint venture with a South Korean company.

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5. 2006Houston expansion

   The chain opened a 10,000-square-foot location in Houston.

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6. 2005Franchising begins

   Lee's Sandwiches began franchising its deli-café model.

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7. 2001Bakery-café format launches

   The first American-style bakery-café opened in Westminster, adding deli food, coffee, and desserts.

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8. 1988The San Jose restaurant moves to a larger site

   The original restaurant moved near King and Tully roads in East San Jose.

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9. 1983The first Lee's Sandwiches shop opens

   The family opened a permanent Vietnamese sandwich shop at Sixth and Santa Clara streets in San Jose in June.

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10. 1982Lee Bros. Foodservice is established

    Chieu and his brother Henry developed a mobile catering and distribution business serving food trucks.

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11. 1981Chieu Le purchases a food truck

    Chieu Le and Yen began selling a mixed American and Vietnamese lunch menu from a food truck.

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12. 1979The Lê family immigrates to the United States

    The family arrived in the United States as boat people in July 1979 after the Vietnam War and later settled in San Jose.

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Accessible, family-owned Vietnamese fast food and bakery-café dining, combining traditional bánh mì and drinks with a broader American deli and café menu.

• Bánh mìVietnamese sandwich1983

  Bánh mì is the brand's defining offering: Vietnamese-style sandwiches served in a baguette. Lee's helped present the format through a standardized fast-food and bakery-café operation, connecting a traditional Vietnamese food with the convenience and distribution model of an American sandwich chain.

• European-style baguette sandwichesBakery-café sandwich2001

  The bakery-café menu includes baguette-based sandwiches described as European-style. These offerings broaden the menu beyond the traditional Vietnamese sandwich format and support the chain's positioning as both a deli and a café.

• Vietnamese iced coffeeBeverage

  Vietnamese iced coffee is one of Lee's best-known beverages. It is sold alongside bánh mì and other café products and has contributed to the chain's role in introducing Vietnamese coffee flavors to a wider American fast-food audience.

• Vietnamese dessert chèDessert2001

  Chè, a category of Vietnamese sweet desserts and drinks, forms part of the chain's Vietnamese-oriented dessert offering. Its inclusion reinforces the bakery-café format's connection to Vietnamese culinary traditions.

• Lee's Coffee RoasteryCoffee retail concept2017

  Lee's Coffee Roastery is a related café concept opened beside a Lee's Sandwiches restaurant in Westminster in 2017. It extended the family's emphasis on coffee beyond the beverage menu of the sandwich shops.

• 2020Shift toward takeaway and pickup serviceOther

  The COVID-19 pandemic led restaurants to reduce dine-in service and adopt operating practices intended to limit in-person contact.

  What changed. Lee's locations stopped or reduced dine-in service while continuing takeaway and pickup options.

  Aftermath. The change aligned the chain with the broader restaurant industry's pandemic operating response.

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• 2017Launch of Lee's Coffee RoasteryProduct launch

  Coffee was already a core part of Lee's bakery-café identity, particularly through Vietnamese iced coffee.

  What changed. The Lê family opened Lee's Coffee Roastery beside a Westminster Lee's Sandwiches location.

  Aftermath. The related concept extended the family's coffee business and created a dedicated setting for coffee products.

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• 2015Expansion into TaiwanStrategy

  Following the Ho Chi Minh City venture, the brand continued testing markets outside the United States.

  What changed. Lee's opened a restaurant near Taipei station.

  Aftermath. Taiwan became another reported operating market for the chain.

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• 2008International joint-venture expansion in VietnamM&A

  The company pursued an international presence in Vietnam, a market closely connected to its culinary identity.

  What changed. Lee's opened a District 1 café in Ho Chi Minh City through a joint venture with a South Korean company.

  Aftermath. The move added Vietnam to the brand's international footprint.

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• 2005Adoption of franchisingStrategy

  After expanding through family-developed restaurants, Lee's Sandwiches sought a model that could support broader geographic growth.

  What changed. The company began franchising its Vietnamese deli-café concept.

  Aftermath. The chain expanded across additional United States markets and later reported 59 United States locations in 2018.

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• 2001Shift to the American-style bakery-café formatStrategy

  The family's traditional Vietnamese sandwich business had established a base in San Jose, but the family sought a format that could appeal to Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese customers.

  What changed. Chieu Le and Minh Le opened the first American-style bakery-café in Westminster, combining bánh mì with deli sandwiches, coffee, and desserts.

  Aftermath. The store succeeded, seven additional locations opened within a year, and the chain expanded into other California cities.

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• 2020Lee's Sandwiches adapts restaurant service during the COVID-19 pandemic

  Like many restaurants, Lee's locations stopped or reduced dine-in service in March 2020 while continuing takeaway and pickup operations.

  OtherRegulation
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• 2017Lee's Coffee Roastery opens in Westminster

  The Lê family opened Lee's Coffee Roastery next to a Lee's Sandwiches restaurant in Westminster, California.

  Product launch
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• 2015Lee's Sandwiches opens in Taipei

  The chain opened a location near Taipei station, adding Taiwan to its international operating markets.

  Other
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• 2008Lee's Sandwiches enters Ho Chi Minh City

  The company opened a café in District 1 through a joint venture with a South Korean company, extending the brand into Vietnam.

  M&AOther
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• 2006Lee's Sandwiches expands to Houston

  The chain opened what was described as its largest location, a 10,000-square-foot restaurant in Houston.

  Other
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• 2005Lee's Sandwiches begins franchising

  The company began franchising its Vietnamese deli-café format, supporting expansion beyond its original family-operated locations.

  Other
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• 2001Lee's Sandwiches opens its first American-style bakery-café

  Chieu Le and his son Minh opened the first bakery-café version of the business in Westminster, California, broadening the menu beyond traditional Vietnamese sandwiches.

  OtherProduct launch
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1. Lee's Sandwiches