Legendary D.C. eatery a witness to history
Ben’s Chili Bowl has endured 60 years of upheaval to become a landmark
WASHINGTON – Ben’s Chili Bowl has been a place of refuge for Danis Hebb, 59, since he was a teenager. During times of racial tension in the past decades, Hebb was among black residents beaten in the streets by police. To avoid run-ins with officers, he often retreated to the restaurant for a hot meal in a safe space.
Hebb, now a government worker, still considers Ben’s his second home. He can be found sitting at the counter during lunch breaks, biting down on a crispy “half-smoke” hot dog.
“I will always come here. Probably till I can’t walk or drive anymore,” Hebb said.
When Virginia Ali, 85, and her late husband, Mahaboob “Ben” Ali, first opened the Chili Bowl in the 1200 block of U Street in 1958, their goal was simple – to join a community of thriving businesses in hopes of also reaching entrepreneurial success.
Little did the newlyweds know their little hot dog shop, spawned from a homemade spicy chili sauce recipe, would survive decade after decade of sociopolitical upheaval in D.C.’s black community. Not only did Ben’s survive, it also has become a landmark revered around the world.
On Aug. 22, the restaurant celebrated its 60th anniversary. U Street closed so hundreds of people could pack the street in front of the shop all day, dancing to live go-go music and eating foilwrapped chili dogs. A new street sign designating Ben’s Chili Bowl Way was unveiled. Next door that evening at the historic Lincoln Theater, civil rights activists Jesse Jackson and Dick Gregory were honored at a benefit concert to raise money for the restaurant’s charitable foundation.
“It’s been hard work. It’s been ups and down. We’ve endured with the help of the community, and our staff and our children,” Virginia Ali said in a recent interview.
U Street was ‘Black Broadway’
In segregated mid-century Washington, U Street was known as “Black Broadway,” the glittering epicenter of black entertainment frequented by the likes of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holliday and catered to by black entrepreneurs who ran banks, clothing stores and other businesses.
“Everything was booming at that time,” Ali said.
It was in this optimistic atmosphere that Ali, originally from rural Virginia, met her husband while working at the Industrial Bank of Washington. Ben Ali, an immigrant from Trinidad with roots in India, studied at the University of Nebraska and Howard University. He abandoned his dreams of being a dentist after breaking his back in a fall. But he knew the restaurant business and a family recipe for chili sauce.
The couple thought it was only logical to locate their business on U Street. They found a former silent-movie-theater-turned-pool-hall to renovate.
“We thought, ‘ My gosh, this is ideal. We can make this work,’” Ali said. She calls Ben Ali a natural businessman.
“He knew that we were going to make it work. He knew that we were actually determined to make it work. And that’s why it worked. It was a seven-days-aweek thing,” Ali said. “We had our first week’s vacation together 10 years later, but there was never a time when the Chili Bowl wasn’t first and foremost on his mind. We could be on the dance floor: ‘ Honey, did you remember to order?’ ”
“When you eat, sleep and dream something; when you focus on something all the time; when your focus is clear, it works. The strength of the effort is the measure of the result,” Ali said.
Along with notable entertainers, the 1960s brought civil rights activists to the shop. Stokely Carmichael, a Howard University student and leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was a frequent customer. It wasn’t unusual to see him at a table nearest the wall holding meetings with people like H. Rap Brown, Ali recalled.
“H. Rap Brown was talking about ‘Burn, Baby, Burn,’ and the civil rights movement was heating up,” Ali said. “There was talk of Burn, Baby, Burn, if African-Americans don’t get equality in schools and equality in jobs. So, there was always a discussion going on.”
Martin Luther King Jr. also was an occasional visitor. The reverend, who maintained an office a block away, would sit in briefly for lunch and would then be on his way, Ali said.
News of his death on April 4, 1968, shocked the neighborhood, Ali said. One after another, patrons ran in the door announcing King had been fatally shot. Finally, someone turned on a radio, where an announcer confirmed King had been assassinated on a hotel balcony in Memphis.
“Everyone began to cry,” Ali said.
Riots and rebirth
That night, Black Broadway changed forever. Riots erupted in response to King’s death. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed, causing millions of dollars in damage. More than 7,000 people were arrested, and 13 died, during four days of rioting.
Ben’s Chili Bowl stayed open through it all. While other businesses were forced to close, the commander of the 13th police precinct gave Ben’s special permission to operate to serve first-responders and government officials.
“It was just scary,” Ali described working through the riots. “You’re seeing flames. You’re seeing blasts, bricks being thrown through windows.”
Few businesses reopened after the riots. Most in the neighborhood had been burned down. Ben’s, Lee’s Flower Shop and Industrial Bank were the three businesses on U Street to survive.
The ’80s and ’90s brought another type of devastation to the black community, Ali explained. Heroin and crack cocaine moved into the neighborhood. Houses were boarded up. Street corners were overflowing with addicts. And violence was prevalent. “It was a difficult time,” Ali said. Today, homes have been restored. Other businesses have returned. And although the city’s black community has diminished, Ali has taken the changes in stride. “We’re now a smaller universe. We have people from every corner of the earth in Washington, D.C.,” Ali said. “It’s kind of fascinating.”
A community legacy
Ben’s remains respected as a staple in Washington and has been featured on food and travel television shows; Anthony Bourdain visited several times. In one day, families from Nebraska, China and Italy approached the co-founder with smiles and picture requests.
Ben Ali died of congestive heart failure in 2009 at age 82, leaving behind three sons dedicated to helping their mother preserve the family business. As boys, Sage, 58; Kamal, 56; and Nizam, 48, worked at the shop after school and during summer breaks. Now they oversee not only Ben’s flagship restaurant but also operations at seven other locations in the region.
“We think Mom and Pop created an amazing legacy of being part of a community. Our dream would be to continue to build on that legacy and also expand the Chili Bowl,” said Vida Ali, Sage Ali’s wife, who oversees marketing and PR.
In 2014, Adrian Wyhut, an Atlanta native, left nearby Howard University and higher education, but found a family at Ben’s. He is now the youngest-ever general manager. The historic restaurant, he says, is his classroom.
Every day Wyhut, 23, is surrounded by walls of vintage photos – of Bill Cosby, Denzel Washington and President Barack Obama, who visited in 2009.
Wyhut wants to bring in more young faces. The legacy at Ben’s is rich, he said.
“The young people will eventually become the old heads. I want them to be able to have some times at Ben’s to remember,” Wyhut said.