A fast-food restaurant splashed out $12,000 on a bizarre sandwich costume that was auctioned off by a provincial government

The Government of Alberta said the costume "was a prop for an advertising campaign and is no longer required by the department."

Government of Alberta

• A Canadian restaurant spent nearly $12,000 on a donair-sandwich costume in an Alberta government auction.
• The six-foot-three costume was described as in "excellent" visual condition but "dusty."
• CBC reported that the costume was made for a traffic-safety video but was never worn.

A Canadian fast-food restaurant splashed out around $16,000 Canadian dollars, or $11,850, on a massive unworn but "dusty" costume that resembles a donair sandwich at an auction held by the Alberta government.

The government listed the costume on its website in mid-July with a starting price of CA$50. Over the next month, more than 1,700 bids poured in for the unusual outfit. It was eventually won by 25-store Alberta chain PrimeTime Donair and Poutine, which made the winning bid of CA$16,025. Other donair stores, including the King of Donair, Blowers & Grafton, and Swiss Donair, also placed bids, auction records showed.

The listing said the costume was made from various latexes, vulcanized rubbers, and synthetic materials, and had adjustable shoulder straps.

"Comes with silver colored Body Suit for that authentic tinfoil look!," the listing read.

The total outfit from head to toe is six foot three tall, while the donair body suit is four foot eight. The listing said the costume is in "excellent" visual condition but is "dusty."

"When I saw it in person, it blew me away," Adil Asim of Primetime Donair told CTV News.

Canadian national broadcaster CBC reported that the costume was created by special-effects studio Alterian in 2015 for a traffic-safety video about driving while high on cannabis, but that it was never worn after the campaign was canceled.

The Alberta government said on the auction site that the costume "was a prop for an advertising campaign and is no longer required by the department."

The donair is a Canadian dish made of shavings of spiced ground beef that has been roasted on a vertical rotisserie. The beef is placed inside a thin, Lebanese-style pita alongside with tomato, raw onion, and – contentiously – sometimes lettuce, depending on the region. It's topped with a sauce made from evaporated milk, vinegar, garlic, and sugar, and is served wrapped in tinfoil.

The dish was developed by Peter Gamalakos, who opened Halifax's first donair shop, the King of Donair, in the 1970s, multiple sources, including the Food Network, reported. CBC reported that Gamoulakos came up with the idea by tweaking the recipe for a Greek gyro after locals didn't like the taste.

The donair costume shows the inclusion of lettuce in the wrap, which sparked a bidding war between Edmonton and Halifax donair stores, with those on the East Coast saying they would remove the leafy vegetable if they won the auction.

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