How Bun Mee plans to become the ‘Shake Shack of Vietnamese sandwiches’

With so many emerging fast-casual brands looking to follow in the footsteps of successful concepts like Chipotle and Shake Shack, it can be challenging to find a foothold in the competitive landscape, but Denise Tran — founder and CEO of five-unit, San Francisco-based Bun Mee — aims to do just that by franchising Bun Mee nationally.

Bun Mee is named after the English phonetic pronunciation of the popular Vietnamese sandwich, banh mi, and was founded by Tran in 2011 when she realized that she could not really find Asian sandwich concepts in the U.S., and that Vietnamese food (besides pho) was not mainstream in America:

“Back in 2008 when I was living in New York City, a banh mi was still something that people couldn’t even pronounce, and it wasn't part of our lunchtime vernacular as it is now,” Tran said. “I thought it was a great opportunity because there’s no other Asian sandwich out there right now. We have dumplings and baos, but nothing like the banhi mi.”

About 13 years after the first Bun Mee opened, the banh mi sandwich has become decidedly more mainstream. Traditionally, banh mi sandwiches are made with pork belly, cucumbers, cilantro pickles, mayonnaise, soy sauce, jalapenos, and pate inside a crusty baguette. Bun Mee’s menu includes a classic version, one topped with mortadella, as well as a tofu version and chicken sandwiches. Customers can also order chicken pho, noodle bowls, and Vietnamese coffee or tea. 

“I feel like we've come a long way in introducing [the banh mi] and making it accessible for people to really enjoy the experience,” Tran said. “[Creating the menu] was a collaborative effort…. I created some of the recipes myself, but I don’t pretend to be a chef. We have a chef that collaborates with us, but we don’t have an executive chef specifically on our team.”

Although Bun Mee first launched in 2011, Tran decided that now was the perfect time to begin franchising, especially after the COVID-19 recovery era has died down. Bun Mee announced franchising through Franchise Elevator in September, shortly before opening its fifth location in the Marina District of San Francisco. Since 2021, Bun Mee’s traditional stores have grossed more than $1 million in sales annually. Two of Bun Mee’s units are airport locations, both at the San Francisco International Airport, and gross over more than $4.6 million and $3.6 million in sales in 2023, respectively.

“Throughout the years, we’ve constantly been asked about franchising opportunities, and I didn’t take on those opportunities because I wanted to finesse and fine-tune our operating model,” Tran said. “We’re now coming out of the strongest two years we’ve ever had, and I’m really confident we’d be able to take on a franchising model and be successful at it.”

During the COVID recovery years, Tran said her team spent a lot of time "focusing inward" and investing in their operational model. For example, Bun Mee shrank its menu to reduce complexity, invested in upgraded kitchen equipment, and learned how to operate leaner. 

Moving forward, Tran hopes to expand thoughtfully through franchising, with a focus on the Colorado region as the first area of growth outside of San Francisco. The goal, she said, is to sign on five new franchisees by the end of the franchising program’s first year, and then gear up to 10 unit openings every year. In five years, Tran anticipates that Bun Mee will be up to 50 units.

“For me, it's really just about managing growth that we can still support,” Tran said. “I'm not talking about 100 units a year. I want to focus on being a high-quality franchise and grow in meaningful ways.”

Contact Joanna at [email protected]