Ben’s Chili Bowl, which has served half-smoke hot dogs and chili to customers at its original U Street NW location since 1958, is closing that store next week for months of repair work.
The restaurant said on its website that the U Street NW location will close at midnight Monday, with a grand reopening planned for November. The closure marks the first repair work for the historic building in more than 60 years.
The structure itself dates to 1910, per the Ben’s Chili Bowl website. Before hosting the restaurant, it served as a silent movie theater and pool hall.
“We are now going to renovate the wiring, the plumbing, the air conditioning and all those things that you need to run a restaurant safely. … There will certainly be some improvements in the stove, the grills and the counters, but things will look the same,” Ben’s Chili Bowl historian Bernard Demczuk told WTOP-FM.
The restaurant will open a temporary pop-up across the street from the closed location on July 17 to serve customers during the closure.
There are also locations on H Street NE, inside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Dulles International Airport, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center during events and at Nationals Park during baseball games.
“We’ve welcomed generations of guests through our doors, and now we’re taking this time to care for the space that has meant so much to so many. It’s time to give it some love so it can serve another generation,” said Virginia Ali, 91, who co-founded the restaurant with her late husband, Ben Ali.
