Photos by Ronald Baker
In honor of the 60th Anniversary of Ben’s Chili Bowl, two new faces were added to the infamous mural, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Urban One Founder Cathy Hughes.
For the last six decades, the restaurant has famously served up half-smoke sausages smothered in chili while feeding locals but also some of the world’s biggest stars. During the Civil Rights era, Ben’s was an important cornerstone along the U Street corridor, serving food to organizers of the March on Washington and workers from the nearby offices of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and The Southern Christian Leader Conference, the restaurant’s historian, Bernard Demczuk, said in an essay posted in honor of the 60th anniversary.
Check out more photos from the event below.
