{{title}}
{{byline}}
{{byline}}
Name: Denise Tran
Title: Founder and CEO
Company: Bun Mee Vietnamese Sandwich Eatery
No. of units: 5 (corporate stores)
International units: 0
Growth plans: To bring authentic Vietnamese cuisine to Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming
Public or private? Private
Year company founded: 2011
Year started franchising: 2024
Your years in franchising: 1
Denise Tran, a former attorney, is the founder and CEO of Bun Mee Vietnamese Sandwich Eatery, a gourmet fast-casual restaurant concept with five locations in San Francisco—Pacific Heights, Financial District, SFO Terminals 1 & 3, and the Marina District—and a plan to franchise nationwide.
Bun Mee has been nationally recognized as a pioneer in the Asian sandwich niche for making delicious banh mi sandwiches with wide crossover appeal. Launched in 2011, Bun Mee blends the street food concepts of Vietnam with Denise’s flavorful modern interpretations with fresh, local ingredients. Within months of opening, Bun Mee was critically reviewed with many menu items landing on San Francisco’s best lists. In 2013, Bun Mee appeared on Fast Casual Magazine’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers in the country at No. 28 between Panera Bread and Five Guys.
Denise has been recognized by Quick Service Magazine as one of the country’s top Wonder Women founders changing the game in the fast-casual industry. In 2020, the San Francisco chapter of the Entrepreneur’s Organization recognized her with the Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Bun Mee has been featured on the Travel Channel’s “Food Paradise” and received countless mentions in local, national, and international press.
What inspired you to start your business? I have always been entrepreneurial but followed a safe corporate law path. It was my father’s early and unexpected passing that caused me to rethink and seek to curate my life deliberately. My passion for Vietnamese cuisine came from my solo travels to Vietnam as part of my father’s wish to take his ashes to his homeland. While there, I ate at street markets and met with street vendors who shared their passions with me. I was inspired to recreate these food memories in a modernized way.
What is your background? I am Vietnamese. I was born in Saigon and raised in New Orleans. Most recently, I’ve lived in New York and San Francisco. I graduated with a JD/MBA and practiced corporate law for nearly five years in Seattle.
How did that prepare you for starting your business? Having a JD/MBA degree provided the necessary business and legal foundation and framework for me to start my business. I understood contracts and had strong research, writing, communication, and analytical skills. Further, my MBA degree prepared me for the business world.
What’s the best and worst advice you got when starting out? I had a lot of people tell me to avoid the restaurant business. It had a high failure rate and low margins. People said I would just be buying myself a job. Once, I was told I needed experience to be successful—because I came from the corporate world, I didn’t have the requisite experience.
Best advice? Location. Pay for location.
Was this your first time in franchising? Yes.
Why did you choose to franchise? I wanted to leverage local know-how and grow my company quickly while mitigating expansion risks. I understand there is a risk in a loss of control of the brand when you decide to franchise. However, we’ve worked hard to figure out our scaling model to ensure our brand stays consistent and authentic.
Did you have a partner/co-founder when you started? I am so glad you asked this question! I am self-funded and self-founded. I am the majority owner of my business along with a few minority investors. It is no secret that franchising is very male dominated, and many financial barriers can prevent people from getting their businesses off the ground. It isn’t uncommon for people to assume I opened the business with a spouse (specifically, a husband), and that he is the “true” owner while I just help out.
How important was that in building your company? This was everything. It provided the freedom to run my business as I wish without getting bogged down. It is also a point of pride as an Asian woman founder.
How did you fund your company at the beginning? As you grew? I funded my business and brought on an equity partner early on who did consulting work in exchange for equity. I also brought on a friend who invested in the business.
What were the keys to funding your brand? My passion and persuasiveness inspired others to believe in my vision and agree to fund our company when it was still just an idea. I also had a strong network of individuals who knew me well and understood my strengths and weaknesses. People invest in those they believe in.
What has been the best and the hardest thing about being an entrepreneur? The best thing (so far) about my entrepreneurial journey is seeing my father’s legacy live on through Bun Mee. Finding success as a business owner is impressive and highly coveted on its own. However, being successful with something so integral to my identity and heritage and something so close to my heart has made it all the more worthwhile.
The hardest thing was the initial learning curve of the restaurant industry, franchising, and owning a business. It is widely assumed that one needs prior experience in a certain field to find success, but I dove headfirst, literally, and learned as I went along. I am still learning, especially the ins and outs of franchising. All of my prior experience and education was in law, but my passion and devotion to Bun Mee allowed me to keep moving forward.
How has your experience in running a franchise business been different from what you expected? Since we launched our franchising opportunity in Q4 of 2024, it is too early to tell. Check back in with me in a few months though!
How did you grow the brand at first? What changed as you expanded? Our first five stores are corporate owned and operated in San Francisco. We recently started franchising near the end of 2024, so this will be our first foray into strategic, consistent growth in other markets.
How did you transition from founding a brand to leading a brand? I’m still navigating this transition as we look to scale and grow. In the past few years, I’ve started to shift my focus from taking a hands-on role in product development and operations to a broader strategic focus. This required me to establish a strong leadership team, delegate operational tasks, find ways to communicate, and develop a clear vision for growth. Additionally, implementing systems for feedback and innovation ensures that the brand continues to evolve while maintaining its core values. This transition also requires adapting to a more formal structure.
How would you describe your leadership style? My style is both visionary and collaborative. I communicate and set a vision for our company that is large and audacious, such as “We want to be the Shake Shack of Vietnamese sandwiches.” I work collaboratively with our team to invite input when making decisions, but ultimately, I make the final decision on strategic matters. I also lead by running the company as if I were an employee. I believe in real-time recognition and making sure my staff feels heard. Maintaining authenticity and abiding by the business’ core values can be challenging when you grow. Many restaurants face a loss of identity or inconsistencies in day-to-day operations while expanding into new territories, so it is important for me that each banh mi sandwich in any location you visit will taste just as good as from any other location.
What is the key to your company’s success? The keys to our success are the following:
Was being female an advantage or disadvantage for you in building your company? How? It was both. It was a disadvantage in that I was often underestimated or talked down to in various settings, especially on construction sites. However, I also liked being underestimated because I saw this as an opportunity to bring my A game when others least expected it. It also allows me to catch people who are being dishonest or looking to take advantage of me.
Have you found specific advantages or disadvantages to being a woman business owner? I can quickly weed out dishonorable people. Furthermore, I have different skills that I believe shine as a CEO. I’m detail oriented, and I have an intuitive sense for what works for my guests that perhaps a male counterpart may overlook. As a manager of people, having empathy for my staff helps me connect with them in meaningful ways.
What has been your biggest challenge as a woman entrepreneur? There are a few. I’m a single mom who wants to be as hands-on as possible in parenting my son, so balancing being a mom and running my business is a huge challenge. My biggest challenge is the glass ceiling, which exists in any industry. There are business opportunities that will be hard for me to obtain because they typically are available to male-dominated networks. There are still talented men who do not work well when following a woman leader.
Why do you think there are fewer start-ups with female founders than male ones? When women are not made to feel welcome in a space or career path, they will inevitably receive fewer opportunities or feel that because they do not see role models that look like them already, those role models or women do not exist in the world. It is hard to raise financial capital or get investors when female founders are not taken as seriously as male counterparts with the same or similar business concept. It’s been proven that investors are more likely to invest in male-owned start-ups. This systemic denial/lack of access to funding is what continues to perpetuate the disparity between female and male entrepreneurs. Women cannot rise to the occasion when they are not given access or the tools to succeed.
What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace? Unconscious and conscious bias, misogyny, and racism, which are often all packaged into one. The very act of financing and funding your own business is gendered and full of bias. The age-old stereotype of women having limited capabilities in the workplace (or not belonging there at all) extends to top investors and incubators.
From your perspective, what notable changes have you seen for women in franchising since starting your brand? Too new for me to say.
Which female leaders do you admire? Why? Sara Blakely of Spanx, Peggy Cherng of Panda Express, and Rosalind Brewer of Walgreens as well as Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama.
Has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life? How? I’ve benefited from some amazing mentorship relationships. They aren’t always formal as many of mine are informal, but having a network of informal advisors whom I trust and respect to turn to was pivotal to my success.
Are you involved in any female entrepreneur organizations? I’m a member of the Entrepreneur’s Organization in San Francisco. It is a global network of founders, and there are women founders and subgroups in our organization.
What would you like to achieve in the next five years? I’d like to see at least 30 Bun Mee stores across the country and in several domestic and international airports.
What’s coming up that you’re excited about? Franchising Bun Mee throughout the rest of California as well as introducing it to communities in the Western U.S.