Students who order a sandwich at one of St. Thomas’ eateries might not expect that their food could be named after them.

Junior Lisa Thao is the first student to have a sandwich named after her at the Food For Thought deli line on the Minneapolis campus.

The “Lil’ Lisa,” a sandwich made of roast beef, pepperoni, pepper jack cheese and chipotle mayo, was featured this week as the special at Food For Thought.

“Lisa came in about a month ago, and she always gets the same sandwich all the time,” Jennifer Alexander, head of the deli line at the Minneapolis campus said. “I always have to come up with a special for the week, and so I made hers a special of the week because she inspired other people in line that day to try the sandwich.”

Thao said she was stunned to hear the news, but appreciated the chance to make her mark at St. Thomas.

“Honestly, I’m pretty proud of myself,” Thao said. “It makes me really, really happy, and it’s kind of like an accomplishment of some sort.”

The “Lil’ Lisa” has gained popularity with about three out of every 10 customers ordering the special.

Junior Russell Smith said he appreciates the symbolism behind naming a sandwich after Thao.

“It shows that St. Thomas is open to accepting new ideas from students,” Smith said.

Alexander said this may be the first time a sandwich has been named after a student, but it certainly will not be the last.

“I want to put up a sign up sheet, write your ideas down, put your name on it, and I’ll pull one out every month,” Alexander said.

Thao said she feels honored to be the first.

“I am happy there is a sandwich named after me,” Thao said. “It makes me happy.”

Johnnay Leenay can be reached at Leen1980@stthomas.edu