Virginia Ali

Ali was born on December 17, 1933, and is of African American and Native American descent.^[1] She was raised in rural Virginia and was educated in a segregated school system.^[2] She moved with her family to Washington, D.C., in the 1950s.^[2]

After moving to Washington, Ali worked as a teller at Industrial Bank, a historic Black owned business.^[3] It was there that she met husband Ben Ali when he visited the bank to deposit money from a local restaurant where he worked.^[3]

Ali and Ben opened Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street in Washington, D.C., on August 22, 1958.^[4][5] Many famous entertainers frequented the family-run restaurant, in the heart of the Shaw neighborhood. The restaurant became a favorite late-night gathering place for the likes of Duke Ellington, Dinah Washington and Redd Foxx.^[6] Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson, and Stokely Carmichael often ate together at the Chili Bowl.^[7]

During the 1968 Washington, D.C., riots after the death of King, Ali kept the Chili Bowl open at the request of Stokely Carmichael.^[2]

Ali has served on the boards of several organizations, including For Love of Children.^[8]

Ali and her husband were inducted into the DC Hall of Fame in 2002.^[8] She and Ben received the Key to the City from mayor Adrian Fenty in honor of the restaurant’s 50th anniversary in 2008.^[8]

Virginia and Ben Ali were married on October 10, 1958; together they had three sons.^[6] Each of their children were given the middle name Ben in case they took over the restaurant.^[6] All three eventually became involved in running the restaurant after Ben's death.^[9]