Virginia Ali
{{Short description|American business owner}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Virginia Ali
| image = Virginia Ali Ben’s Chili Bowl 2019.jpg
| alt = Profile view of Ali smiling at something off-camera.
| caption = Ali at Ben's Chili Bowl (2019)
| birth_name = Virginia Rollins
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1933|12|17}}
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| nationality = American
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| known_for = Ben's Chili Bowl
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| spouse = Ben Ali
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Virginia Ali ({{Nee|Rollins}}; born December 17, 1933) is an American business owner known for co-founding Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington, D.C.
Early life
Ali was born on December 17, 1933, and is of African American and Native American descent.{{Cite news|last=Sidman|first=Jessica|date=December 17, 2020|title=Ben's Chili Bowl Owner Virginia Ali Turns 87 Today. Here's What She's Most Grateful For.|url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/12/17/bens-chili-bowl-owner-virginia-ali-turns-87-today-heres-what-shes-most-grateful-for/|url-status=live|website=Washingtonian|access-date=August 12, 2021|archive-date=July 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716045558/https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/12/17/bens-chili-bowl-owner-virginia-ali-turns-87-today-heres-what-shes-most-grateful-for/}} She was raised in rural Virginia and was educated in a segregated school system.{{cite news |last1=Foster |first1=Margaret |title=She built more than a restaurant |url=https://www.thebeaconnewspapers.com/she-built-more-than-a-restaurant/ |access-date=24 February 2022 |work=Beacon |date=1 April 2019}} She moved with her family to Washington, D.C., in the 1950s.
Career
After moving to Washington, Ali worked as a teller at Industrial Bank, a historic Black owned business.{{cite news |last1=Adkins |first1=Lenore T. |title=Virginia Ali, Owner of Ben's Chili Bowl, Embraces 60 Years of Change |url=https://afro.com/virginia-ali-owner-of-bens-chili-bowl-embraces-60-years-of-change/ |access-date=24 February 2022 |work=AFRO American Newspapers |date=23 August 2018}} It was there that she met husband Ben Ali when he visited the bank to deposit money from a local restaurant where he worked.
Ali and Ben opened Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street in Washington, D.C., on August 22, 1958.{{Cite news|date=July 31, 2020|title=My Story: Virginia Ali|newspaper=Washington Business Journal|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2020/07/31/virginia-ali-on-bens-chili-bowl-her-first-baby.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813033743/https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2020/07/31/virginia-ali-on-bens-chili-bowl-her-first-baby.html|archive-date=2021-08-13}}{{Cite web|url=https://washington.org/visit-dc/turning-back-clock-with-virginia-ali-of-bens-chili-bowl|title=Turning Back the Clock with Virginia Ali of Ben's Chili Bowl | Washington DC|website=washington.org|access-date=2021-08-12|archive-date=2021-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811234158/https://washington.org/visit-dc/turning-back-clock-with-virginia-ali-of-bens-chili-bowl|url-status=live}} 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. Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson, and Stokely Carmichael often ate together at the Chili Bowl.{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2020/07/31/virginia-ali-on-bens-chili-bowl-her-first-baby.html |title=My story : Virginia Ali|website=Bizjournals.com|access-date=2022-03-03}}
During the 1968 Washington, D.C., riots after the death of King, Ali kept the Chili Bowl open at the request of Stokely Carmichael.
Ali has served on the boards of several organizations, including For Love of Children.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/black-chefs/bens-chili-bowl-restaurateur-virginia-ali/|title=Ben's Chili Bowl Virginia Ali | Q&A | Where are the Black Chefs? | PBS|website=Where are the Black Chefs? | PBS|access-date=2021-08-12|archive-date=2021-06-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623221847/http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/black-chefs/bens-chili-bowl-restaurateur-virginia-ali/|url-status=live}}
Awards and honors
Ali and her husband were inducted into the DC Hall of Fame in 2002. She and Ben received the Key to the City from mayor Adrian Fenty in honor of the restaurant’s 50th anniversary in 2008.
Personal life
Virginia and Ben Ali were married on October 10, 1958; together they had three sons.{{cite news |last1=Schudel |first1=Matt |title=Ben Ali, 82, Whose Chili Bowl Became a D.C. Landmark, Dies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/08/AR2009100804353.html|newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=24 February 2022 |date=9 October 2009}} Each of their children were given the middle name Ben in case they took over the restaurant. All three eventually became involved in running the restaurant after Ben's death.{{cite news |last1=Azam |first1=Nuzaira |title=From MLK and civil rights movement to BLM and storming of Capitol, Virginia Ali has seen it all |url=https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2021/04/04/from-mlk-and-civil-rights-movement-to-blm-and-storming-of-capitol-virginia-ali-has-seen-it-all-444800/ |access-date=24 February 2022 |work=The American Bazaar |date=5 April 2021}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://benschilibowl.com/ Ben's Chili Bowl official website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Virginia}}
Category:African-American women in business
Category:American women restaurateurs
Category:American restaurateurs
Category:20th-century African-American businesspeople