Lee's Sandwiches
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Lee's Sandwiches International, Inc., is a
Vietnamese-American Vietnamese Americans ( vi, Người Mỹ gốc Việt, lit=Viet-origin American people) are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American ethnic group after Chinese ...
fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...
restaurant chain headquartered in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
, with locations in several states and in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. Lee's Sandwiches specializes in , "European-style"
baguette A baguette (; ) is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, though not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust. A baguette has a di ...
sandwiches, Vietnamese iced coffee, and Vietnamese dessert . It is credited with popularizing Vietnamese sandwiches and iced coffee among mainstream American consumers and inspiring several other Vietnamese-owned bakery chains.


History

Lee's Sandwiches was founded by the family, who owned a successful sugar refinery in
An Giang Province An Giang () is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the Mekong Delta, in the southwestern part of the country. Geography An Giang occupies a position in the upper reaches of the Mekong Delta. The Hậu Giang and Tiền Giang branches of ...
in Vietnam before the Vietnam War and immigrated to the United States as boat people in July 1979. After having lived briefly in New Mexico and
Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...
, they settled in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
, in 1980. Chieu Le () initially worked as a cook in a food truck before purchasing one in 1981, from which he and his wife Yen () sold hamburgers, burritos, chow mein, and to office workers on lunch breaks. The following year, Chieu's brother Henry () purchased his own food truck, and the two began a mobile catering distribution business. Founded in San Jose's Little Saigon, they named it Lee Bros. Foodservice, Inc., anglicizing their surname to "
Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...
". It grew to serve more than 500 food trucks by 1985, many of them owned by Vietnamese immigrants. In 1983, Chieu and Henry's parents, and , began borrowing Chieu's truck on weekends to sell at the corner of 6th and Santa Clara streets, near the San Jose State University campus. The truck's popularity prompted complaints from nearby restaurants. In June 1983, they opened a traditional Vietnamese sandwich shop named Lee's Sandwiches at the same street corner. In 1988, Lee's Sandwiches moved to a larger space near King and Tully roads in the Vietnamese section of
East San Jose East San Jose (abbreviated as ESJ), commonly called The East Side and less commonly as the East Valley, is the eastern region of the city of San Jose, California. The East Side is made up of numerous neighborhoods grouped into two larger distric ...
. On August 8, 2001, Chieu and his son Minh () opened the family's first American-style bakery-café in the Little Saigon of Westminster, California. It featured an expanded menu including deli sandwiches, coffee, and desserts, with the goal of attracting Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese customers alike. There was some disagreement among family members about the new direction. However, the new store was a success. Within a year, the chain opened seven more locations and expanded to many other cities in California. In 2005, Lee's Sandwiches became the first Vietnamese deli-cafe to franchise. By 2006, Lee's had become one of the fastest-growing fast food chains in the western United States. In March 2006, it opened its largest location, at , in Houston. A long line formed in anticipation of the grand opening of Lee's' first Houston location. On August 8, 2008, Lee's opened a café in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, as part of a joint venture with a South Korean company. In August 2015, it opened a location near the
Taipei station Taipei Main Station () is a railway and metro station in Taipei, Taiwan. It is served by Taiwan High Speed Rail, the Taiwan Railways Administration, and the Taipei Metro. It is also connected through underground passageways to the terminal sta ...
in Taipei,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. , market research firm Sundale Research listed Lee's Sandwiches among the 12 largest bakery-café chains in the United States. On August 8, 2017, the family opened a café named Lee's Coffee Roastery adjacent to a Lee's Sandwiches location in Westminster, California. Many restaurants stopped dine-in service in March 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, with take-away & pickup service available.


Restaurants

, Lee's Sandwiches has 59 locations in the United States. They are located in cities with large Vietnamese American populations in Arizona, California, Nevada,
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. One shop is located in front of the original location, next to San Jose City Hall. Lee's Sandwiches has locations in
food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. I ...
s at the
Asian Garden Mall Asian Garden Mall, known in Vietnamese as Phước Lộc Thọ, is a shopping center in Westminster, California. Opened in 1987, Asian Garden Mall is the first and largest Vietnamese-American shopping mall and is seen as a symbol of the community. ...
in Westminster, California, and the Cali Saigon Mall in Garland, Texas. With locations in Westminster Mall in Westminster and
Eastport Plaza Eastport Plaza is a shopping center located in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It is anchored by Century 16 Theatres, LA Fitness, and Walmart. Originally an enclosed shopping mall, construction began on October 20, 1959, and was carried ...
in Portland, Oregon, Lee's Sandwiches is one of the first Vietnamese businesses to enter mainstream malls and shopping centers. Outside the U.S., Lee's Sandwiches has two locations in Taipei,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
.


See also

* List of bakery cafés *
List of restaurant chains in the United States The following is a list of notable restaurant chains in the United States. Asian/Pacific Baked goods Beef Beverages Chicken Frozen desserts Hamburgers Hot dogs Mexican/Tex-Mex Pizza/Italian Salad/vegetarian ...
*
List of Vietnamese restaurants Following is a list of Vietnamese restaurants: * An Xuyên Bakery, Portland, Oregon, U.S. * Ba Bar, Seattle, Washington * Bambū * Berlu, Portland, Oregon * Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. * Double Dragon, Portla ...
*
Phở Hòa is a phở restaurant chain based in Sacramento, California, United States. It was founded in San Jose, California, in 1983. , it has more than 70 locations across the United States, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, and ...
, another Vietnamese restaurant chain that began in San Jose


References


External links

*
Franchising website

Lee's Coffee Roastery

Lee Bros. Foodservice
{{Food chains in Taiwan Restaurants in San Jose, California Economy of the Southwestern United States Regional restaurant chains in the United States Fast-food chains of the United States Restaurants established in 1983 Vietnamese restaurants in the United States Vietnamese-American culture in California 1983 establishments in California Bakery cafés Bakeries of California Companies based in San Jose, California American companies established in 1983