Virginia Ali of Ben's Chili Bowl

The term "legend," "icon" ... "queen" gets tossed around a lot. Virginia Ali deserves every single one. She’s the matriarch of Ben’s Chili Bowl which is immensely important to the story of DC.

We recorded our mile long conversation along DC’s U Street Corridor, historically known as Black Broadway. It’s where Virginia and her late husband Ben Ali built a restaurant empire, loving family and the deepest community connection.