Ben’s Chili Bowl hopes May reopening meets its matriarch’s standards

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Democracy Dies successful Darkness

After astir a twelvemonth of upgrades, household matriarch Virginia Ali said, the historical U Street determination should inactive look the mode it has for astir of its 68-year history.

April 20, 2026 astatine 2:05 p.m. EDT1 infinitesimal ago

Vida Ali, daughter-in-law to Ben’s Chili Bowl co-founder Virginia Ali, flanked by employees extracurricular the soon-to-reopen edifice Friday. (Hannah Foslien/For The Washington Post)

Ahead of the May 1 reopening of Ben’s Chili Bowl — the historical determination connected U Street NW, wherever for decades politicians person gathered to validate their D.C. credentials — the Ali household is talking astir the refurbished diner arsenic a “gift backmost to Mom.”