You'll want to add this autographed collector's item to your bookshelf!
Virginia Ali was born in rural Virginia in 1933, moved to Washington in 1952, and married Howard University student Ben Ali in 1958, opening Ben's Chili Bowl that same year. From the beginning, the restaurant fed everyone: neighbors, students, and the civil rights leaders who made U Street their gathering place.
When Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, the neighborhood burned. Over the decades that followed, U Street faced economic collapse, Metro construction disruptions, and the long shutdown of the pandemic. Ben's stayed open through it all. Virginia Ali's commitment to treating every person with dignity became as much a part of the restaurant's identity as the chili itself.
She still comes to work every day, wearing her pearls. There is a reason she is the most photographed woman in Washington.
Breaking Barriers with Chili tells her story in full. A good read for anyone who loves Ben's, loves DC, or wants to understand what it actually takes to build something that lasts.
Paperback format. Every book features a bookplate personally signed by Virginia Ali and the author, Bernard Demczuk, Ph.D.
