JOHN JOHNSON

When we met John Johnson in 1977, he was beaming with pride, having just bought Camp Washington Chili parlor from its founders, his uncle Steve Andon and Anastasios “Fred” Zarmbus. John had worked at Camp Washington since his arrival in America in 1951, so he knew the secrets of five-way chili as well as any cook in the chili-crazed city of Cincinnati. He explained to us with conspiratorial glee that when he took over, he actually tinkered with the hallowed recipe and improved it! The result was an American success story—a restaurant beloved by Queen City eaters for decades, now recognized far and wide as a roadfood original.

Camp Washington sets the standard for Cincinnati chili; and John Johnson, God bless him, has maintained his prototypical Midwest urban chili parlor as the open-all-night, democratic joint it always has been. He’s kept the menu simple, too: chili available three-, four-, or five-way, as a “haywagon,” or as the abundant topping for Coney Island hot dogs. And, lest we forget: Camp Washington remains a shining beacon of excellence in preparation of that little-known Cincinnati chili parlor specialty, the double-decker sandwich.

When this photograph of Mr. and Mrs. John Johnson was taken in the late 1970s, they had just bought the chili parlor from John’s uncle and were proud as punch.