Lee's Sandwiches
American Vietnamese fast-food and bakery-café chain known for bánh mì, baguette sandwiches, Vietnamese coffee, and desserts.
Last updated October 30, 2026
AI crawler reads
4requests
1companies- Anthropic4
- Profile
- 3
- Controversies
- 0
- JSON · MD
- 0
- First read
- Nov 4, 2026
- Latest read
- Nov 4, 2026
From this site's server log
Overview
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, coffee, and desserts, presented in a form designed to appeal to both Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese customers. Despite some family disagreement over the new direction, the store performed well. The chain added seven more locations within a year and expanded to other California cities. In 2005, Lee's Sandwiches became the first Vietnamese deli-café in its market to franchise. The chain expanded beyond California in 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 branch near Taipei station in August 2015. By 2018, it had 59 United States locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. The company also entered mainstream shopping malls and food courts, including Westminster Mall, Eastport Plaza in Portland, and the 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 bánh mì and Vietnamese iced coffee into the American fast-food mainstream while maintaining ties to Vietnamese American communities and family entrepreneurship.
History
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.
- 2018
The chain reaches 59 United States locations
[1]Reported locations covered eight states, with restaurants in Vietnamese American communities, malls, food courts, and shopping centers.
- 2017
Lee's Coffee Roastery launches
[1]The family opened a coffee-roasting café next to a Westminster Lee's Sandwiches location.
- 2015
Taipei location opens
[1]Lee's Sandwiches opened a location near Taipei station.
- 2008
Ho Chi Minh City expansion
[1]A café opened in District 1 through a joint venture with a South Korean company.
- 2006
Houston expansion
[1]The chain opened a 10,000-square-foot location in Houston.
- 2005
Franchising begins
[1]Lee's Sandwiches began franchising its deli-café model.
- 2001
Bakery-café format launches
[1]The first American-style bakery-café opened in Westminster, adding deli food, coffee, and desserts.
- 1988
The San Jose restaurant moves to a larger site
[1]The original restaurant moved near King and Tully roads in East San Jose.
- 1983
The first Lee's Sandwiches shop opens
[1]The family opened a permanent Vietnamese sandwich shop at Sixth and Santa Clara streets in San Jose in June.
- 1982
Lee Bros. Foodservice is established
[1]Chieu and his brother Henry developed a mobile catering and distribution business serving food trucks.
Products and positioning
Accessible, family-owned Vietnamese fast food and bakery-café dining, combining traditional bánh mì and drinks with a broader American deli and café menu.
Vietnamese sandwich · 1983
Bánh mì
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.
Bakery-café sandwich · 2001
European-style baguette sandwiches
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.
Beverage
Vietnamese iced coffee
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.
Dessert · 2001
Vietnamese dessert chè
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.
Coffee retail concept · 2017
Lee's Coffee Roastery
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.
Brand decisions
2020
Shift toward takeaway and pickup serviceOtherBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic led restaurants to reduce dine-in service and adopt operating practices intended to limit in-person contact.
Action taken
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.
2017
Launch of Lee's Coffee RoasteryProduct launchBackground
Coffee was already a core part of Lee's bakery-café identity, particularly through Vietnamese iced coffee.
Action taken
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.
2015
Expansion into TaiwanStrategyBackground
Following the Ho Chi Minh City venture, the brand continued testing markets outside the United States.
Action taken
Lee's opened a restaurant near Taipei station.
Aftermath
Taiwan became another reported operating market for the chain.
2008
International joint-venture expansion in VietnamM&ABackground
The company pursued an international presence in Vietnam, a market closely connected to its culinary identity.
Action taken
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.
2005
Adoption of franchisingStrategyBackground
After expanding through family-developed restaurants, Lee's Sandwiches sought a model that could support broader geographic growth.
Action taken
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.
2001
Shift to the American-style bakery-café formatStrategyBackground
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.
Action taken
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.
Recent events
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/lees-sandwiches · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled