At Ben's, a Life Remembered

Ben's Chili Bowl continued to serve up its trademark chili-smothered half-smokes on Thursday, despite the loss Wednesday night of its co-founder, Ben Ali. The Post says Ali, 82, died at home, of congestive heart failure. The hearts of Ben's employees and customers were heavy today.

As word of Ali's death spread into the afternoon, faithful regulars (amid a throng of reporters) trickled in, expressing condolences and wondering about a memorial service. The consensus seemed to be that the family would likely choose a private service, because no building in the District could possibly hold all the members of the public who would want to pay their respects.

Sitting at the counter eating lunch was retired D.C. public schools employee Maurice Jones, who said he's been coming to Ben's since it opened, when he was a teenager. Jones remarked on the resilience of the restaurant, which has been open continuously since 1958, as well as that of the Ali family.

"The disturbances didn't stop them," Jones said, referring to the riots and looting of 1968. "Then the drug thing happened, there were a lot of junkies out there, but they never disrespected [the Alis]. They only told them, don't come in here."

And when construction of the U Street Metro station threatened the survival of nearly every business along the corridor, Ben and his wife Virginia made it work.

"It was a family thing. They were determined to hold it together," said Jones.

No one at Ben's today could say for sure whether the restaurant might close for a time in honor of Ali. Employee Jermaine Jefferson thought it was likely they'd keep the doors open for the rest of the week, but maybe close for just a few hours for an eventual funeral. They'd know more by Saturday, Jefferson said, when he expected to have some kind of memorial poster to give to customers with all the relevant information.

In the meantime, the grills are just as busy as ever.