CSUB student-athletes launch food truck business

Brothers team up to serve soul food to community through Bentley Bowl

By California State University, Bakersfield

November 8^th, 2024

It all started in the late hours of the night.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, 15-year-old Bentley Waller would often find himself awake at 2 a.m. feeling hungry and bored. He would cook various chicken dishes that each had their own unique soul food flair. This happened so often that Bentley became known among friends and family as 2 a.m. Chef B.

“I like cooking and spending time with my family. We all enjoy cooking and hanging out with each other,” he said.

After many of these late nights, an idea struck Bentley’s older brother, Kadar: what if they teamed up to start their own business and share their food with the community?

“He was feeding us good, and I thought we could feed the world and start a franchise,” Kadar said.

Bentley said the idea took him by surprise, but he quickly saw the potential in it.

“When he brought that to my attention and to the family’s attention, we all ran with it,” he said.

The Waller brothers — now both student-athletes pursuing business degrees at California State University Bakersfield — picked the name Bentley Bowl for their fledgling business, which intentionally started off slow.

They first started selling a selection of seasonings in butcher shops and other stores in 2021. After having success with that, they then began catering at events. Having received a lot of positive feedback from customers, the brothers took the next step and bought a food truck.

The truck opened this past summer and can now be found at various locations around Bakersfield, including at CSUB. Its headquarters is located at 2324 Truxtun Avenue, where the truck can be found at least once a week on Sundays.

“It’s been going good,” Kadar said. “People are showing a lot of support. They are coming more and more consistently. The whole CSUB community has been supporting us.”

Bentley Bowl serves a variety of different bowls, most of which consist of fried or pan-seared chicken and a choice of sides, which include mac and cheese, rice, fries and corn.

“It’s food that feeds the soul,” Bentley said. “When you eat it, you feel warm, you feel welcomed. It feels like a good home-cooked meal.”

The food all comes from family recipes that have been passed down over generations. Cooking has always been a major Waller family tradition. Bentley and Kadar grew up seeing many of their family members cook, including an aunt who is a professional chef.

“We’re not creating recipes. They’re already established, which helps a lot,” Kadar said. “Anytime we feel flustered or anything, we have people in our family who have experience and understand what we’re going through.”

Bentley Bowl is a family affair. In addition to the brothers, who try to spend two to three hours a day on the business, their parents and other family members also help operate the truck.

“Doing it with our loved ones is great. Everyone has their roles,” Kadar said. “We have a great team behind us. We can trust that things will be handled if we’re not there.”

Having that trust is critical for the Waller brothers, who — in addition to running a business — are both busy with their academics and playing on the men’s basketball team.

“Time management is a struggle. We’re being real cautious of our day and planning everything hour by hour, just being responsible and prioritizing what we need to prioritize,” Kadar said. “We might lose a little sleep and be a little tired, but it’s worth it. We believe we’re more than capable of handling being in school as a student-athlete and being business owners.”

The Waller family, from left: Bentley, Doc, Arleana and Kadar.

'A great family legacy'

Bentley, now 19, joined CSUB this year as a freshman while Kadar, now 23, transferred to CSUB last year to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration degree. Kadar said what he’s learned through the master’s program has helped him run the business side of Bentley Bowl.

“Last semester, I learned a lot about the accounting side of business: product costs, gains and losses,” he said. “It’s helped get me think beyond what you see on the outside and just learning every part of the business. It’s helped me a lot to be more professional and consistent.”

The brothers have also enjoyed being able to play together on the CSUB men’s basketball team. Having left Bakersfield for Mississippi Valley State University for his undergrad, Kadar said he’s enjoyed returning to, and playing for, his hometown.

“It’s been a good experience. I’ve felt very welcomed,” he said. “The community supports us.”

Bentley has also enjoyed his first year on the team and getting to know the other players, saying “this program feels like a family. It’s a brotherhood.”

Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rodrick Barnes has been a friend of the Waller family for more than a decade and has had the opportunity to see the brothers improve their skills on the basketball court over the years. Barnes worked to bring them both to CSUB when they became available for recruitment.

“I was always encouraging them to work on it. You could see the potential in them that you hope they would develop,” he said. “To see where they are now is a blessing. They’re great young men.”

Barnes said he’s proud to see the brothers keep their grades up while staying committed to the team and still finding time to start a new business venture.

“Seeing them be inspired to do that has been great. To do it at such a young age, and to do it really well, is amazing,” he said. “This is going to be a great family legacy. They are leaving their mark here in the community.”

Ronald “Doc” Waller is Bentley and Kadar’s father. He works at CSUB as the coordinator of the `Runner Ready program, which helps prepare student-athletes for life outside of athletics. He said he’s also proud to see what his sons have been able to achieve at the university.

“They’ve been playing basketball all of their life, so being able to witness their drive, their focus on their craft…it feels like bringing a dream to life,” he said. “To see them out there smiling in blue and gold is a great feeling.”

When his sons told him about their idea of starting a business, Waller was supportive but advised them to be careful given their already busy school schedule. He quickly came around on the idea, however. Now he helps work the food truck two to three days a week.

“I support them 100 percent. I’d rather them do business together than do business with a stranger,” he said. “I’ve been telling them ‘Don’t put a limit on your dream. Don’t ever put yourself in a box. Take it to the next level.”

With the positive community feedback Bentley Bowl has gotten so far, Waller believes his sons have done just that.

“We’re very proud of our boys,” he said. “To see them get out of their comfort zone and have the willpower to succeed is amazing. Right now, future looks bright.”

While Bentley Bowl is just getting started, the Waller brothers have big plans for the business. They hope to launch a franchise that, within five years, will result in at least 50 Bentley Bowl trucks being licensed and operated across the U.S. They’ve already received several inquiries from people interested in being franchisees.

“With a good team and the plan that we have, I feel like we’re heading in the right direction,” Kadar said. “We believe in our plan, and we believe in what this franchise can be. We see so much potential in it.”

Bentley said he’s enjoyed seeing the business grow over the past year and is excited to see what the future holds.

“We’ve built this brick by brick. To see the progress and where we’re at now, it’s a blessing for real,” he said. “We gotta keep on going. The sky is the limit.”