From Local Favorite to National Stage: Bun Mee Lands in Manhattan

San Francisco favorite Bun Mee is bringing its modern take on Vietnamese sandwiches to New York with its first franchised restaurant in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. The East Coast debut will be the first of three planned under a multi-unit agreement—and the first Bun Mee location outside California.

For the five-unit brand that built its name through high-traffic neighborhood restaurants and two locations at San Francisco International Airport, the move into New York marks a defining step into franchising. It’s also a milestone in bringing banh mi into the American fast-casual mainstream, with a concept shaped by Vietnamese heritage, California creativity, and 15 years of operating experience in demanding markets.

“We’re not here to test a concept,” says Kera Vo, Bun Mee’s lead for franchise development. “We’re here to plant our next flag in NYC.”

The industry has already taken notice. In 2025, Bloomberg named Bun Mee among the world’s best airport restaurants, while Fast Casual included the brand in its Top 100 Movers & Shakers. Sales rose 25% last year, adding momentum as Bun Mee expands with a deliberate focus on the markets and owners that fit.

A Fresh Take on Fast Casual

Bun Mee is building the first national brand around gourmet banh mi-inspired sandwiches, an untapped corner of the sandwich business with no scaled leader. For franchisees, the opportunity is a differentiated fast casual concept that brings craveable East-meets-West flavors to a category crowded with the usual sub-shop lineup.

The difference starts with the food. The brand takes the classic banh mi in a more playful direction—serving up Vietnamese street food with a modern California twist.

Toasted French-inspired baguettes come layered with crisp pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro, jalapeño, and premium proteins, such as rich Kurobuta pork, alongside house inventions like the Sloppy Bun. Signature bowls, salads, rolls, and sides round out a menu built for grab-and-go convenience, a relaxed dine-in meal, pickup, delivery, and catering.

The concept pairs a focused menu with a compact, flexible footprint and a straightforward operating model. Traditional restaurants range from 700 to 1,600 square feet, generally operate from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and staff five to eight people per shift.

“We want to be the Shake Shack of Vietnamese sandwiches,” says Denise Tran, founder and CEO of Bun Mee.

From New York to San Francisco—and Back

The idea for Bun Mee took shape not far from its Manhattan location.

Tran, then a corporate attorney, was eating a porchetta sandwich in Greenwich Village when it took hold: Italian sandwiches had earned a place on American menus, and banh mi deserved the same recognition. She saw a gap for Vietnamese food that was true to its flavors but accessible to guests discovering it for the first time.

The first Bun Mee opened in San Francisco in 2011, offering Vietnamese flavors in a welcoming format for those who had never tried banh mi. In the early days, counter staff worked from a script, explaining the grilled proteins, brightly pickled vegetables, and fresh herbs on a crispy baguette that make up the classic sandwich. The brand name plays on the way many Americans pronounce “banh mi.”

Today, guests arrive knowing the food, seeking it out, and sharing it.

“Opening our first franchise location in New York is serendipitous,” Tran says. “It's coming full circle to where the idea was born.”

A Franchise Partnership Built on Family

Real estate professional John McClave and his family are bringing Bun Mee to the New York metro area. The ownership group includes McClave, his wife, Nam; their son, Egan; and Nam’s brother, Huy. After comparing franchise models across fast casual, the family signed a multi-unit agreement within the first year of Bun Mee’s franchise launch in late 2024.

McClave says the leadership behind the brand sealed the decision.

“Bun Mee stood out because Denise and her team brought a level of professionalism and warmth that made the entire opportunity feel both solid and personal,” McClave says. “The more we learned, the clearer it became that Bun Mee had the right mix of strong operations, a thoughtful leadership team, and the kind of brand that could thrive in New York City.”

For Tran, the partnership reflects the brand’s food-and-family foundation, particularly through Nam and Huy’s Vietnamese heritage.

“The McClave family embodies everything Bun Mee was built on,” Tran says. “Their Vietnamese roots through Nam and Huy, their strong family bond, and the way they work together feels so familiar to my own story.”

The Road Ahead

Bun Mee seeks to expand with owner-operators and semi-absentee investors with strong management capability and restaurant or hospitality experience in the ownership group or operating team.

The company is awarding single and multi-unit opportunities, with traditional storefronts in highly walkable, high-traffic urban and suburban markets. Vo also sees future potential in malls, convention centers, and college campuses.

Support begins well before opening day. Bun Mee assists franchisees with site selection, lease review, design, training, launch planning, and ongoing operational guidance. Tran remains personally involved in reviewing sites and maintaining the experience that established the brand in San Francisco.

With its first Manhattan restaurant opening in Fall 2026 and two more New York locations planned, Bun Mee is looking for partners ready to help take gourmet Vietnamese fast casual national.

To learn more about Bun Mee’s rare, ground floor franchise opportunity, visit bunmee.co.

SPONSORED BY:
Bun Mee
Bun Mee is expanding nationwide, seeking franchise partners to grow a Vietnamese fast-casual brand with momentum, scalability, and broad appeal. Learn More