King of Donair facts for kids
King of Donair at Pizza Corner in Halifax
|
|
| Locally owned subsidiary | |
| Industry | Fast food |
| Founded | Halifax, Nova Scotia (1973) |
| Headquarters | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Products | Pizza, garlic fingers, donairs, poutine, chicken wings, poppers, egg rolls |
King of Donair, often called KOD, is a popular restaurant chain. It started in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1973. A Greek immigrant named Peter Gamoulakos opened it. He made the 'donair' sandwich famous in the city.
Many people love King of Donair. It has been shown on TV shows like National Geographic, the Food Network, and the Travel Channel. Famous chefs like Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern have visited KOD. In 2015, the donair became the official dish of Halifax. December 8 is even National Donair Day!
Besides donairs, KOD is also known for its pizza and garlic fingers. They also make other donair foods, like donair egg rolls and donair pizza.
Contents
History of King of Donair
How the Donair Started
The first King of Donair opened in 1973. It was on Quinpool Road in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Peter Gamoulakos, who owned a pizza shop, founded it. He got the idea from eating gyros during a trip to Greece.
When he tried to sell gyros in Canada, people didn't like the lamb meat or the yogurt sauce. So, he changed the recipe. He used spicy beef instead of lamb. He also made a sweet sauce from evaporated milk. This new dish was based on the Turkish doner. The doner kebab was first made in Turkey in 1867.
Peter perfected his new recipe. Then, he opened King of Donair in 1973. The original King of Donair is still in the same building today. The chain now has four other locations in Nova Scotia.
Growing Across Canada
.jpg)
In the 2010s, King of Donair started to grow. They opened pop-up shops in Alberta to see if people there would like their food. A two-day event was planned for Calgary and Banff in March 2010. The Banff event was canceled because too many people wanted to come. The Calgary event happened and raised money for a children's hospital.
In 2018, two new restaurants opened in Alberta. These were in Edmonton and Grande Prairie. In 2019, KOD opened another Alberta spot in Sherwood Park. They also opened their first restaurant in Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon.
King of Donair also planned to open in other cities. These included Vancouver, Kelowna, and Victoria in British Columbia. They also planned for Regina, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg, Manitoba. By the end of 2018, they hoped to have at least one location in British Columbia. They expected to open ten new locations that year.
King of Donair in Pop Culture
- King of Donair appeared on the TV show Trailer Park Boys. This was in an episode called "A Man's Gotta Eat" in 2004. A character named Randy often visited for donairs.
- In 2015, a rapper named Quake Matthews released a song. It was called "Down With the King." This song was a tribute to the donair and King of Donair. Characters from Trailer Park Boys were in the music video.
Awards and Recognition
King of Donair has won many awards. They won The Coast's Best of Halifax Reader's Choice Award for Best Donair many times. They won in 1998, 2001-2003, 2006-2010, and 2013-2016. This means they won 14 out of 19 years! They were also added to the Hall of Fame in 2018-2019.
