Donair costume sparks bidding war between Halifax, Alberta restaurants

How much would you be willing to pay for a donair costume?

Restaurants that sell the sweet and savoury treat on both sides of the country have been asking themselves just that, as they fervently outbid each other in an online auction for the unique meaty attire.

The costume is being sold on the Alberta government's surplus website, and the bids had topped a whopping $9,600 on Friday morning.

It's East versus West, with Halifax restaurant chain King of Donair and Alberta's Blowers & Grafton vying for the peculiar piece, along with Edmonton's Swiss Donair and PrimeTime Donair & Poutine.

King of Donair bills itself as the first donair shop in Canada — having opened in 1973 — and co-owner Nicholas Nahas said his team is determined to bring the costume to the East Coast.

"It's about pride," said Nahas in an interview Thursday. "We're not shy to say we're the first ones to introduce the donair in Canada…. We feel it should be here in Halifax, as silly as it sounds."

The donair — which consists of roasted shaved beef, tomatoes and onions wrapped in a pita and drizzled with a sweet sauce — was declared Halifax's official food in 2015.

It was created in the port city in the 1970s by Greek restaurateur Peter Gamoulakos, who wanted to share the flavours of his homeland with Halifax. The taste of the traditional Greek gyro was not well received, and so he made some adjustments.

The donair eventually made its way out West, as droves of Maritimers fled to Alberta in search of better wages, and their favourite late-night fare.

But the western Canadian eateries don't always get it right, according to Josh Robinson, who owns the Blowers & Grafton restaurant chain in the Calgary and Edmonton areas.

It often looks more like the Greek gyro and includes ingredients like pickled turnip and lettuce.

Robinson, who is originally from Halifax, sought to change that. Blowers & Grafton serves up "authentic Halifax street food" — they even have their donair meat shipped from Nova Scotia.

Robinson said when he saw the costume, he knew he had to have it.

"We found it so funny," said Robinson. "There's a whole bunch of things we've been discussing and we could have a lot of fun with this thing."

As It Happens8:17A donair costume sparks auction battle between east and west

The Alberta government is auctioning a donair costume on its surplus website. It's become the centre of a bidding war between a restaurant chain in Halifax and multiple establishments in Alberta. Nicolas Nahas, owner of the King of Donair restaurants, joins As It Happens host Nil Köksal from Halifax.

Given Robinson's connection to the donair's birthplace, he promised the costume would not be staying in Alberta should Blowers & Grafton win the race.

"I think it belongs in Alberta as much as it belongs in Nova Scotia, and I think it can have some travel along the way," said Robinson.

"The cool thing about the donair is that it's become a Canadian staple — it's actually one of the most Canadian things out there. That's part of what my partners are thinking about. There's a lot of fun things we can do with this donair suit across the country."

Nahas said winning the costume would be a fitting way to celebrate his restaurant chain's 50th anniversary.

"Maybe we'll find a place to hang it up and obviously if we get it, we'll have it patrol up and down the road," he said.

Both Robinson and Nahas said they are exploring the possibility of trying to work with the Alberta government to add a charitable aspect to the auction, given it's bound to fetch several thousand dollars.

Neither are willing to say just how far they'll go to snag the suit.

WATCH | Can you eat 19 donairs in less than an hour?

Fitness model eats 19 donairs in under an hour

6 years ago

Duration 1:39

This is Joel Hansen and he's perhaps the first person to eat 19 donairs in less than an hour.

But there is one other thing they can both agree on: lettuce has no place on a donair, or a donair costume.

"I know a lot of good barbers in town," said Nahas, adding that King of Donair now has locations in both Nova Scotia and Alberta. "We'll get a little haircut and trim that green stuff off if we end up winning."

The 'Wise Donair'

In a statement Thursday, the Alberta government said the costume was purchased in 2015 for use in a traffic safety video campaign.

"The idea was to focus on the perils of impaired driving caused by cannabis and urge motorists to make responsible choices," the statement said.

"Ultimately the Wise Donair video production was cancelled, and the government's efforts to raise awareness about the perils of drug-impaired driving were refocused on other tactics."

It was designed and created by Alterian Inc., a Los Angeles-based special effects studio specializing in the design and creation of animatronic and prosthetic makeup effects.

"We don't normally create food costumes, but this one was so unique, we had to say yes," company owner Tony Gardner said in an email. 

"Variety is the spice of life and we always like a challenge."

Auction closes Aug. 14

The costume's description said it is made of different latexes, vulcanized rubbers and synthetics, and comes equipped with a silver-coloured body suit "for an authentic tinfoil look!"

The website said the auction is running longer than usual — a full month — due to "the rarity" of the piece. Bids will be accepted until Aug. 14 at 8 p.m. MT.