Benjie De Los Santos did not figure out what he wanted to be when he grew up until after he turned 50.
More than a decade later, he’s got a sandwich shop, two food trucks that bear his name and a pile of awards. De Los Santos has won multiple San Antonio Grilled Cheese Festivals, claimed honors for his barbacoa tacos and earned raves for his chicken sandwich at Benjie’s Munch.
A first-time customer once remarked, “It’s just a sandwich.” To which De Los Santos replied, “Well, yeah, but take a bite and tell me what you think.”
The customer became a regular. Benjie’s Munch has lots of them. Unique creations with knock-out flavors bring people back again and again.
Who else makes a grilled cheese with melted mozzarella and provolone, spinach artichoke dip and bacon between two slices of butter-toasted sourdough? Who else makes a chicken sandwich with red onion jam, pickled jalapeno slices, arugula and cilantro ranch dressing?
““I just like to play with food,” De Los Santos said. “I try to hit textures and flavors and presentations.”
He hits them so well one customer visited every Saturday for a year to try every item on the ever-evolving menu. Then he started going through the menu again.
“If I’d have been able to do this a long time ago,” said De Los Santos, 63. “I’d be on a beach somewhere.”
De Los Santos spent the better part of 35 years moving from job to job. He washed dishes at Luby’s at 15, worked as a line cook at Olive Garden, managed a since-closed Fajita Junction and held a variety of jobs at several restaurants in San Antonio and Dallas.
At one point, De Los Santos sold insurance. After six months, he quit.
Later, he spent eight years with the food-services company Sodexo. His career changed in 2014 after he and his wife, Dawn De Los Santos, saw “Chef,” a film about a celebrity chef who quits a restaurant and finds a new career in an unlikely kitchen.
Dawn said, “You should do that.” Benjie complied, cashed in his 401(k) and, like the protagonist in ‘Chef’,” opened a food truck.
With hand-crafted sandwiches and sauces made from scratch, the concept became an instant hit. With a nod to Jon Favreau, the lead character in “Chef,” Benjie included a Cuban sandwich on his menu. With help from Dawn, the finance manager, son Diego, and parents Benny and Stella De Los Santos, a new career was launched and a run of good fortune followed.
In 2016, Benjie’s Munch won the Barbacoa & Big Red Festival. In 2017, Benjie opened a brick-and-mortar on Bitters Road. In 2018 and 2019, Benjie’s Munch won the San Antonio Grilled Cheese Festival and the awards kept coming, filling an entire wall of the restaurant.
Ask Benjie to name his favorite item on the menu and he’ll look at you in disbelief. That would be like asking parents to pick a favorite child. They love them all. What he’ll tell you is this: So many people say his chicken sandwich is the best they’ve ever eaten, he’s renamed it, “Best Chicken Sandwich Ever.”
One reason for the sandwich’s popularity is the meat: sliced chicken with cracker crumb breading dipped in buttermilk. Another is the jalapeño slices.
“I want jalapeños on every part of the bottom bun,” Benjie said. “It’s got to hit all the right points and flavor profiles. One bite is going to be the same as the other.”
Benjie’s commitment to uniform taste and flavoring stems from a health crisis. Many years ago, he weighed more than 400 pounds. Gastric sleeve surgery reduced the size of his stomach and enabled him to lose 150 pounds.
“I can only eat half a sandwich,” he said. “I want every bite to count.”
So does Diego, 28. He started in high school as a food truck helper and rose to restaurant manager. When the father retires, the son will take over. The future excites him.
“The growth has been crazy,” Diego said. “I mean, we’re just blessed that everyone has supported us. After people eat here for the first time, they say, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to try everything.’”
Diego has known his future for years. As a 15-year-old at Clark High School, Benjie didn’t know what he wanted to be when he grew up. He just knew he needed a job. So he began washing dishes, earned an associate degree at St. Philip’s College and spent three decades trying to figure life out.
One day, he stepped into a theater, and when he came out, his future became clear. A film about a struggling chef would launch a career as a chef and restaurateur.
