WASHINGTON, D.C. – As we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Day, one Washington, D.C. based restaurant became a spot Dr. King would dine at often. The 92 year-old owner shares her memories she has of the late civil rights activist.
When Virginia Ali and her late husband Ben opened Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington, D.C. decades ago, it was in a segregated Black community.
“I opened it in 1958 and it’s been 67 years this year,” said Ali.
But if you were to ask her what she does for work, she would tell you, she’s in the people business.
“It’s been a remarkable place for me because of the people and it’s a privilege of serving people of all walks of life,” said Ali.
Ben’s Chili Bowl is a local favorite in D.C. Her establishment has been featured on TV shows and has served Presidents, judges, celebrities and those who need it the most.
“My dad taught me as a little girl to treat people the way you want to be treated and you will never have a problem,” said Ali.
On one day in 1963, in walked the civil rights leader.
“I look up and there’s Dr. Martin Luther King going through the door,” Ali recalled. “It was so amazing to see him and meet him, I got to sit with him.”
Ali said he dined at her restaurant several times. They talked about family and the beauty of Washington, D.C. She joked and said his favorite dish to eat at her establishment was the chili burger.
“I remember one conversation we had in particular, and he said ‘I have an appointment with President Kennedy,’” recalled Ali. “He told President Kennedy he was bringing a large amount of people here to protest the injustices of Black people.”
That rally would become one of the most historic moments in the Civil Rights movement. Ali and her husband attended that rally where Dr. King gave his famous “I have a Dream” speech.
“Dr. King meant so much to us,” said Ali. “He had that spirit of wanting to help everybody. He was a man of dignity. A man that was proud and soft spoken. Just a pleasure to be around.”
Ali remembers the shock she felt learning about his death.
“Five years after that march, someone runs through that door and yells ‘Dr. King has been shot,’” Ali recalled. “And we couldn’t possibly believe that. What a wonderful, calm, wonderful, peaceful, nonviolent leader. Then people were coming in here with tears. Crying openly. It was just a very difficult time.”
Following Dr. King’s assassination, riots broke out in D.C. A curfew was enacted but Ali said her restaurant was the only place allowed to stay open past curfew. It became a safe haven during that time.
“Those three nights were the hardest nights ever,” said Ali. “Just hearing glass breaking, seeing fires outside. It was very, very disturbing because we didn’t know what would happen to us.”
The death of the civil rights leader was painful. The people that sought comfort at her restaurant during those tough times, continue to show their gratitude for the community Ali made at her establishment.
“I’m just grateful to the people and the support they’ve given me,” said Ali.
