Arkansas Chef Builds Toward Creole-Cajun Food Trailer in Benton

Nyaih Russell started selling birria tacos from her home in 2020 after a Facebook post drew more customers than she expected. Six years later, the Benton, Arkansas, chef is growing her catering business and working toward opening Brunch N Lunch, a Southern Creole and Cajun brunch food trailer.

In September 2026, she closed on a Communities Unlimited loan supported by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to expand B&L Catering, buy equipment and inventory, and move her trailer plans forward. She also worked alongside CU’s Entrepreneurship Team on the business side. Her goal is a brunch spot people in Benton and Hot Springs don’t have to travel far to find.

Runs in the Family

Russell grew up cooking alongside three grandmothers.

“I was always in the kitchen with them, watching them cook and asking questions,” she said.

She wanted to attend culinary school after high school but worried about the cost. Instead, she enrolled at National Park College in Hot Springs, studying business before leaving to work. She later returned to school for nursing at her mother’s urging, but when classes moved online during the pandemic, she stopped attending.

In 2020, birria tacos were trending on TikTok. Russell made a batch and posted on Facebook asking whether anyone wanted to buy them. The response surprised her.

She began selling food from home through social media, eventually expanding her menu to include brunch favorites like shrimp and grits and chicken and waffles. Some dishes she hadn’t even tasted before making them herself.

That same year, she acquired an empty enclosed food trailer and began building it out.

The Look on Their Faces

Ask Russell what she loves most about cooking, and she doesn’t mention the food first.

“I think it’s the people’s reactions to my food and the looks on their faces when they try something of mine for the first time,” she said.

Russell initially focused on savory dishes. That changed when she applied for a pastry chef position at Dimes Southern Social in Hot Springs, which has since closed.

Chef Joshua Garland hired her despite her lack of pastry experience and trained her on the job. She developed a new appreciation for baking and another way to surprise customers.

Seeing their excitement when they try something new, she said, is what makes the work worthwhile.

Looking for Capital

As Brunch N Lunch grew, Russell needed financing to expand her catering operations and move forward with plans for her trailer. She turned to Facebook again, this time asking other business owners how they had funded their businesses.

Several suggested Small Business Administration (SBA) microloans and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).

That’s when she heard from Candence Brooks, an Economic Development Loan Officer with Communities Unlimited (CU). Brooks reached out after a colleague on CU’s Community Sustainability Team saw Russell’s story aired on television and shared it with the Lending Team.

Russell responded and began the loan process.

In September 2026, she closed on a CU loan supported by the SBA to help expand Brunch N Lunch, including its catering operations, equipment, inventory and food trailer. Her immediate focus is strengthening the catering side of the business, which she rebranded as B&L Catering to distinguish it from Brunch N Lunch’s breakfast-focused identity.

She has redesigned her website, developed a catering menu and ordered branded packaging, including food liners, reheating instructions, thank-you cards and napkins. She also hired a graphic designer to refresh Brunch N Lunch’s logo and menu, design the trailer wrap and develop merchandise.

Alongside the financing, Russell worked with Rhett Douglas, a Senior Management Consultant on CU’s Entrepreneurship Team, to strengthen her business planning and better understand the financial side of running a business.

Russell sees the catering expansion as a step toward her larger goals.

“If I can prove that Brunch N Lunch’s catering side can stand on its own, I can definitely get that second round (of funding) and build the business on my own,” she said.

Somewhere to Go on Sundays

Russell has big plans for Brunch N Lunch.

“I want Brunch N Lunch to be the best brunch in Arkansas,” she said. “That’s not even cockiness. It’s just that my food is good, and I know what I can offer people.”

She believes communities like Benton and Hot Springs could use more distinctive brunch options. Her goal is to give customers something they can’t easily find elsewhere.

“I don’t want people to have to travel so far to get good brunch,” Russell said. “I want them to have somewhere to go on Sundays.”