photo by steed media service

Few tourists have visited the nation’s capital and not succumbed to the irresistible fare prepared at Ben’s Chili Bowl. Located on Washington, D.C.,’s historic U Street, the family owned business which was founded by Ben and Virginia Ali, has put smiles on the faces of millions of customers with its unique brand of all things chili. Son and current owner Kamal Ben Ali, ushered the famed eatery into an unprecedented era of success and has no plans of slowing down.

“We’ve always been a family place, a community place. Through the riots of 1968, the drug wars of 1978, and the metro construction of 1988, the neighborhood took care of us. The first step in being successful is survival. Marriage is kind of like a marathon. If you’re still married at the end, then it was successful because a whole lot of them will break up along the way,” he explains.

Now approaching their landmark 50th anniversary, Ben’s Chili Bowl has catered to generations of customers who continue to frequent the establishment as if it just opened yesterday. “Jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Ella Fitzgerald all played up and down U Street and afterwards, of course, they came to the Chili Bowl because it was always open until 3 or 4 in the morning, and still is today,” adds Ali.

U Street is now an established club and bar district in D.C., and Ali plans to keep pace with the expansion. The restaurant is opening an after hours lounge to help accommodate the community’s growing clientele. –jason thompson

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