Lee's Sandwiches facts for kids
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Trade name
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Lee’s Sandwiches |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast Casual |
| Predecessor | Lee Bros. Foodservice, Inc. |
| Founded | June 1983 San Jose, California, United States |
| Founders | Chieu Lê |
| Headquarters |
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United States
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Number of locations
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61 (2021) |
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Area served
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Key people
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| Products | Bánh mì, Vietnamese iced coffee, chè, desserts |
| Revenue |  US$32 million (2021) |
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Number of employees
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2,000 (2021) |
Lee's Sandwiches is a popular restaurant chain that started in San Jose, California. It serves tasty Vietnamese-American fast food. You can find Lee's Sandwiches in many parts of the United States and even in Taiwan.
They are famous for their special sandwiches called bánh mì, which are made with crispy baguettes. They also serve delicious Vietnamese iced coffee and sweet Vietnamese desserts called chè. Lee's Sandwiches helped make Vietnamese sandwiches and coffee popular for everyone in America.
Contents
The Story of Lee's Sandwiches
Lee's Sandwiches was founded by the Lê family. They used to own a successful sugar factory in Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, they moved to the United States in 1979. They first lived in New Mexico and Monterey, California. Then, they settled in San Jose, California, in 1980.
Starting with Food Trucks
Chieu Le, one of the family members, first worked as a cook in a food truck. In 1981, he bought his own food truck. He and his wife, Yen, sold different foods from it. They sold hamburgers, burritos, chow mein, and bánh mì. They sold these to office workers during lunch breaks.
The next year, Chieu's brother Henry bought his own food truck. The two brothers started a mobile catering business. They called it Lee Bros. Foodservice, Inc. They used "Lee" as an English version of their family name. Their business grew quickly. By 1985, they served over 500 food trucks. Many of these trucks were owned by other Vietnamese immigrants.
Opening the First Sandwich Shop
In 1983, Chieu and Henry's parents, Lê Văn Bá and Nguyễn Thị Hạnh, started using Chieu's truck on weekends. They sold bánh mì near San Jose State University. Their sandwiches became very popular. Other restaurants nearby even complained because of their success.
So, in June 1983, the family opened a real Vietnamese sandwich shop. They named it Lee's Sandwiches. It was at the same street corner where they sold from the truck. In 1988, Lee's Sandwiches moved to a bigger place in East San Jose.
Growing and Expanding
On August 8, 2001, Chieu and his son Minh opened a new kind of store. It was the family's first American-style bakery-café. This store was in Westminster, California. It had a bigger menu with deli sandwiches, coffee, and desserts. The goal was to attract both Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese customers.
Some family members were unsure about this new idea. But the new store was a big success! Within one year, the chain opened seven more locations. They expanded to many other cities in California. In 2005, Lee's Sandwiches became the first Vietnamese deli-cafe to offer franchises. This means other people could open their own Lee's Sandwiches stores.
By 2006, Lee's was one of the fastest-growing fast food chains in the western United States. In March 2006, they opened their largest store in Houston. It was a huge store, about 10,000 square feet! Many people waited in a long line for its grand opening.
On August 8, 2008, Lee's opened a café in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In August 2015, they opened a store in Taipei, Taiwan. As of 2017, Lee's Sandwiches was among the 12 largest bakery-café chains in the United States. In 2017, the Lê family also opened a coffee shop called Lee's Coffee Roastery next to a Lee's Sandwiches in Westminster, California.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, many restaurants stopped dine-in service. Lee's Sandwiches offered take-away and pickup options instead.
Where to Find Lee's Sandwiches
As of 2018, Lee's Sandwiches had 59 locations in the United States. You can find them in cities with many Vietnamese American people. These cities are in states like Arizona, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia.
One store is located near the original spot, next to San Jose City Hall. Lee's Sandwiches also has locations inside food courts. You can find them at the Asian Garden Mall in Westminster, California, and the Cali Saigon Mall in Garland, Texas. Lee's Sandwiches was one of the first Vietnamese businesses to open in regular malls and shopping centers.
See also
- List of bakery cafés
- List of restaurant chains in the United States
- List of Vietnamese restaurants
- Phở Hòa, another Vietnamese restaurant chain that began in San Jose
