The first is the tool of language. The second is assembly-line efficiency.

Language, Trinh knows, is the key to nurturing relationships. Today, he speaks English with the ease of the native-born, using skills he acquired at Alemany Adult School of Language. He attended the San Francisco school day and night as soon as he arrived in this country. Today, Trinh banters easily with the regular customers who stream through his shop, making it a point to engage anyone new in a welcoming conversation. These are folks who are familiar to him—employees of the high-tech businesses that abound in the light-industrial region of Los Gatos bounded by Lark and University avenues and Winchester Boulevard.

Trinh, 48, catered to the high-tech field when he owned a deli in the early '90s on Technology Drive. He later worked with a caterer serving businesses in the area. It was in January of this year that he bought the Sandwich Maker.

The small shop is the only breakfast and lunch spot in the northwestern area of town, tucked in among a myriad of unobtrusive business offices. "We can offer snacks in the morning for their convenience," Trinh says, referring to his breakfast burritos of eggs, cheese, sour cream and guacamole, or a breakfast sandwich of scrambled eggs, cheese and ham on toast. There are juices to complement them, espresso coffees, muffins, bagels and fruit. "I've had lots of experience with (business) people," he says. "I know their routines and their needs and feel very comfortable with them."

What Trinh knows is that everybody is in a hurry. Lunchtime begins around 11:30 a.m., and a line soon begins to snake around the room as customers order their lunches and move over to wait for pickup. It's mostly takeout, in spite of the available indoor seating and patio tables with shading umbrellas. It is here that Trinh's second tool of assembly-line efficiency applies. Soon after his arrival in America, he went to work on a mass production line for Dahlgren Control Systems—developer of the computerized engraving machine. "I learned how to do things in volume," he recalls of his 15 years with the company, both on the line and in management. "Anything you can do in line, like placing lettuce on bread, can be more efficient with big orders, but there must be attention to detail."

During rush hours, Trinh's wife, Carolyn, and two helpers use the assembly-line approach for filling orders. It can get tricky. Each sandwich has its own character, like the Monterey with turkey, avocado, sprouts and condiments on wheat, or the Valley Vegetarian with avocado, onion, pepper, pickles and condiments on wheat. There are hot pastrami with melted Swiss cheese, grilled chicken breast with sauteed bell peppers or BBQ beef, roast beef and honey-baked ham (all under $4.75). Salads that are popular in hot weather, like chef, Cobb and chicken Caesar, take some concentration, and the fresh daily Vietnamese spring rolls that have become so popular take a lot of advance preparation. Trinh says it takes an average of less than a minute per sandwich to produce an order. "If you don't know how to set up efficiently, it takes longer."

The Trinhs, who live in Cupertino, have a daughter, Anoeli, 20, in college and a son, Raymond, 13, at Kennedy Middle School. Their dad feels the Sandwich Maker is a good training ground for them.

The Sandwich Maker is located at 987 University Ave., Suite 29, in Los Gatos. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.­3:30 p.m. Call 408.395.6331.