A new street sign for Ben&#39;s Chili Bowl Way was unveiled as Washington D.C. residents enjoyed the 60th birthday block party for area landmark Ben&#39;s Chili Bowl Aug. 22, 2018 in Washington, DC. Ben&#39;s Chili Bowl was opened in 1958 by Virginia Ali and her husband Ben. Ben&#39;s original location is a neighborhood staple where such luminaries as Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Martin Luther King, Jr., and former President Barack Obama have eaten. 