Watch: Alberta government's sandwich costume sparks bidding war
Aug. 16 (UPI) -- An Alberta-based restaurant chain came out on top in a bidding war for an unusual piece of the provincial government's property: a sandwich costume.
The latex, vulcanized rubber and synthetic materials costume depicts a donair, a gyro-inspired Canadian flatbread wrap featuring shaved beef, sauce, tomatoes, onions and lettuce.
The costume was made by Los Angeles-based special effects studio Alterian Inc. in 2015 for Alberta's planned video PSA about the dangers of driving while under the influence of marijuana, but the project was scrapped and the costume never had its TV debut.
The suit was listed by the province in an online surplus auction, sparking a bidding war between various organizations and restaurants -- as well as an online controversy about whether lettuce belongs on a donair.
Nicholas Nahas, co-owner of Nova Scotia-based King of Donair, bid on the costume in an attempt to bring it to Canada's east coast, where he said he planned to remove the lettuce in accordance with that region's style of donair.
The winning bid of $16,025 in Canadian currency ($11,854.65 U.S.) was placed by Edmonton-based PrimeTime Donair & Poutine, which said the costume will remain in Alberta -- and the lettuce will remain on the costume.
"We saw some of the guys who were from the other shops were bidding -- they're from the Maritimes -- talking about how lettuce doesn't belong in a donair," PrimeTime Donair & Poutine owner Adil Asim told CBC News. "The majority of people here enjoy lettuce."
Asim said he and his team are making plans to use the costume to promote the eatery chain.
"I might squeeze my 16-year-old son into it, just to kind of get up, get it going around, but we definitely were thinking of collaborating with some comedians possibly and doing some TikTok content," he told CTV News.
