A California sandwich franchise is opening its first Fresno restaurant. Here’s where

Lee’s Sandwiches opens its first location in Fresno this week selling Vietnamese and European sandwiches.

The restaurant is at Campus Pointe near Fresno State, just off Shaw and Chestnut avenues. Lee’s is near Bulldoc Korean Fusion.

Lee’s grand opening starts at 8 a.m. Sunday. The first 250 people in line will get a goody bag with slices of toasted baguettes, a reusable cup and ground coffee.

If you want to try it out before then, you can. The business is having a soft opening (where a restaurant opens quietly to work out the kinks) starting at 8 a.m. Friday.

Lee’s Sandwiches is a franchise with dozens of locations in the San Jose area and Southern California. This will be its 74th location.

Owner Vinh Ly is a 1990 Fresno State graduate.

The food

The restaurant specializes in banh mi, the Vietnamese sandwiches usually served on a baguette, with pork pate or other meats and veggies.

The No. 1 seller at Lee’s?

The Special Combination sandwich. It comes with ham, headcheese (meat from the head of animal, often pork), pork and pate, along with pickled daikon and carrots, onions, jalapeños and cilantro on a 10-inch baguette.

The restaurant’s menu also has “euro sandwiches,” most served on croissants. They include turkey, BLT, a tuna salad with almond slices, and vegetarian options.

The most popular euro sandwich is the Lee’s Club, with turkey, ham and roast beef on a croissant.

All the bread for the sandwiches is baked in house. You can buy individual loaves of long baguettes too.

Coffee and breakfast

Lee’s Sandwiches also serves Vietnamese coffee. Richer than American coffee, it’s served with condensed milk.

You can buy ground coffee at the restaurant too.

The menu includes pastries and breakfast sandwiches, such as ham, egg and cheese and a croissant.

Once its regular hours are up and running, the restaurant will open at 6:30 a.m. so students and educators can get breakfast on their way to classes or work, Ly said.

“We serve everything in the morning,” he said. “I went to Fresno State so I understand.”

Details: Lee’s Sandwiches is at 3029 E. Campus Pointe Drive, suite 400. Regular hours: 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. 559-314-8407.