It’s not just the Edmonton Oilers that the people of Edmonton are proud of — it’s also donairs. A good chunk of the city has that one spot they live by. For some, it’s just outside the city, whether in Beaumont, Spruce Grove, or Sherwood Park, where Famous Donair was officially crowned the 2026 Battle of the Donairs champion Wednesday.

In early July, we at The Nation Network issued a call to action for Edmontonians and those in surrounding areas to submit their favourite donair shop. After all the submissions, our fantastic marketing team put together a 32-shop bracket where shops would go head-to-head via voting on the DFO Edmonton socials and NationExperiences.ca

In the end, however, it was Famous Donair in Sherwood Park that took home the trophy, with a celebratory event where free donairs were given away while supplies lasted. Interestingly, when we created the donair bracket in 2020 for the first time, Famous won the inaugural tournament, and their 2026 victory gives them back-to-back titles.

On Wednesday afternoon, many gathered at Famous Donair for a free donair and to take part in the championship celebration. Inside the shop, ON Everyday was live, with Tyler Yaremchuk and Liam Horrobin interviewing the store’s owner, Nick, and getting his thoughts on the victory. A big shoutout to Nick, as he was up since 1 am getting the donairs and meat all prepared fresh for the big day.

“I really appreciate every single one that supports us, supports the community,” he said on the show. “I’m so happy to get it back-to-back, it’s great again for Famous Donair. For me, losing wasn’t an option. I don’t care if I win it, or don’t win it, it’s advertising for every single shop in Edmonton.”

At the end of the day, that’s what this was about: community. While we love to argue about line combos, goaltending, and what moves the Oilers should make, there’s always the other debate in Edmonton about where to find the best donair.

We got suggestions from all over the city, and the communities where these shops are located showed up to show love for their favourite spots.

Now, that’s subjective. While Famous Donair took the crown, there were still plenty of fantastic shops highlighted, like Swiss Donair, the pride of the Northside. Then you have the runner-up, Maina’s Donair in Beaumont. When we met Maina during the tournament, she spread so much love and joy to her customers. It wasn’t just about the food but about how you felt when you entered the store.

Bigfoot Donair & Horn pub is another that went far in the competition; one I had never heard of until they kept going, only to lose in the semis to the eventual champion, Famous Donair. However, they’ve clearly built themselves a reputation and another store worth checking out in Spruce Grove.

Throughout this experience, it was awesome to watch everyone get involved and see all the communities push their places as far as they could. In the end, it was Famous Donair that reminded everyone why they were voted champions in 2020. This two-month event was never meant to be a ‘food review’ but rather a way to have some fun in the offseason and let people decide the best donair shop in Edmonton and the surrounding areas.

A big thank you to Bet365 Canada for helping us bring this activation back to life. We can’t wait to do it all over again. Lastly, congratulations to Famous Donair on becoming the Battle of the Donairs Champion for the second time.