 It is credited with having helped to popularize Vietnamese sandwiches and iced coffee among mainstream American consumers and inspiring several other Vietnamese-owned bakery chains.Lee's Sandwiches was founded by the family, who owned a successful sugar refinery in An Giang Province 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, they settled in San Jose, California, in 1980.