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HOME > SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS > LOCAL LEADERS IN PHILANTHROPY > BIOGRAPHIES
Chieu Le
[Note: The following biography was prepared and presented by Board member and journalist Thuy Vu at the 11th Annual Asian Pacific Fund Gala.] In 1978, Chieu Le was in his third year of law school when he fled communist Vietnam with his parents, nine siblings and his new wife, Yen Le. They had been married only a month. Chieu Le and his family were crammed into the underbelly of a small fishing boat with nearly one hundred other people, rarely seeing daylight until they reached Malaysia three days later. They lived at a refugee camp for 13 months. And there, in the most unlikely of places, his destiny as an entrepreneur began to take shape. His family opened a grocery store. The whole family would walk four miles and wade across a river to buy food and other items for the store. Chieu’s first child, his son Minh, was born at the camp. Chieu, his wife and son later moved to the U.S., where Chieu worked 18-hour days as a butcher at a slaughterhouse. By the end of everyday, his hands were frozen. Life was hard, and the American dream seemed unattainable. His wife Yen says “Everyday, I cried when he went back to work. I would say let’s go back to Vietnam.” But Chieu told her “Just be patient.” One day, Chieu saw a catering truck in San Jose after his English language class. He asked the truck’s owner if he could have a job, and soon was making tacos, burritos and burgers to workers looking for a quick lunch. Within 6 months, he bought his own truck, though the owner initially didn’t want to sell to him. He told Chieu “You cannot make it. I think you’re a good man, but you don’t speak English.” But Chieu’s wife, Yen, pleaded “Please trust us, we can do it.” They paid for the truck in installments. Chieu was the cook. Yen, barely five feet tall, was the driver. She was so short, customers would sometimes look up and go “Where’s the driver?” Chieu’s father noticed the truck was sitting idle on the weekends. He asked to borrow it, took it to downtown San Jose and sold Vietnamese sandwiches. The baguettes with their traditional Vietnamese ham and other meats, cilantro, julienned carrots and jalapeno peppers quickly became a hit with San Jose’s large Vietnamese population. Chieu’s father then bought his own truck, and the family soon opened its first sandwich store, all the while still building the catering truck business. Chieu and Yen’s parents and siblings all joined the family business and worked hard. The family lived at the same site where their catering trucks were parked. It was in a bad neighborhood, so the couple’s three sons – Jimmy, Jeffrey and Minh – were charged with guarding the trucks when they were in high school. The Le family now owns the largest catering truck company in northern California, with more than 500 trucks. They’re also franchising their sandwich stores. They now have 32 Lee’s sandwiches stores in California, Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma. Yen Le says the franchising enterprise stems from their humble beginning, the catering truck opportunity they almost lost because they couldn’t speak English. She says “We know how hard it is for immigrant blue collar workers to start a business, so we feel good that we can provide this opportunity for them to earn a living and become independent.” Chieu credits his oldest son, Minh, for the expansion. It was Minh’s dream to make the restaurants more energetic, offering both Vietnamese and American sandwiches… and to take the company public one day. Sadly, Minh died in a car accident in 2001 before he could see his newly-styled restaurant open. He was 21. Chieu decided to expand the Lee’s sandwich chain after Minh’s death. He says, “It was Minh’s dream.” And other family members pitched in. Chieu’s other son Jimmy studied business so he could pick up where Minh left off. Minh was always interested in giving to charitable causes, and his parents keep his memory alive by making donations in his name. They established the Minh Le Foundation . Their donation helped establish Coastline Community College in the heart of Orange County’s Little Saigon. They’ve also contributed funds for victims of the 9/11 attacks, the floods in Vietnam and earthquakes in Mexico. But perhaps what touched them most was the Hurricane Katrina disaster. They say as refugees, they know what it’s like to lose your home and start over. Lee’s Sandwiches raised more than 50 thousand dollars for Hurricane Katrina victims. They’ve also given away so many sandwiches to non-profit organizations and schools that if laid end to end, those sandwiches could probably run the length of California! The Asian Pacific Fund honors Chieu Le—an entrepreneur who hasn’t forgotten his roots, and an inspiration to our community for his commitment to giving back.
After we met with Chieu Le and his wife, we were struck by their dedication to the community and their resilience, especially after their son’s death. I want to take just a moment to share with you something we learned after that meeting. Minh had written a school paper about his father, something the family discovered only after his death. In it, Minh said his proudest moments were the times he sat down with his father and heard about the struggles he went through. Minh wrote, “He did all this for the simple reason of supporting his family.” To this day, Minh’s legacy continues to have an impact. Chieu Le and his wife lost interest in expanding the business for a long time after his death. But they say one day, they decided to carry on because they know Minh would want them to carry on. And their bond as a couple is certainly special. Yen is very involved in the family business and so are her 10 siblings. Nearly all the Lee’s Sandwich stores are run by family members. The bond between Chieu and Yen started on a light note. Yen’s family owned a hardware store in Vietnam. Chieu spotted her and started coming in every day to buy things...anything. Yen could tell he was interested in her. So did she give him a discount. She says no, I charged him more! Clearly Chieu has met his match. His wife is a pretty good entrepreneur herself. Chieu would tell you that the secret to his success is hard work, a great wife, a wonderful family and compassion for those less fortunate. Please welcome Chieu Le.
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