British Columbia

Whopper of a tale: Giant hamburger sculpture returned to Salmon Arm restaurant

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'I just assumed it was going to be a grad prank,' restaurant owner says after apparent hamburglary

A photo of a burger sculpture identical to the stolen slider. The Shuswap Grill had two identical sculptures, with the disappearance of one giving new meaning to the term 'take-out order.' (Shuswap Grill - Gourmet Burgary/Facebook)

A suspected case of hamburglary left a Salmon Arm, B.C., restaurant bereft of a styrofoam hamburger sculpture last month.

According to Shuswap Grill owner Dan Shields, it seemed to be a case of two all-thief patties' special loss; cheesed, in a pickle and undone over the sesame-seed buns were the feelings the crime aroused.

"I just assumed it was going to be a grad prank," Shields told Radio West host Sarah Penton.

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"You know that it would show up on the roof of the school or, you know, on top of the principal's car or something like that."

The giant styrofoam sandwich had been resting outside the restaurant, near the dumpsters, waiting to be fully mounted and put on display, when it vanished.

Shields explained that he shared the news of the suspected theft on his Facebook page, which led to a huge social media response.

A few days later, however, he got a call: it turns out a man from Vernon, a scrap collector, was driving by the restaurant one evening, saw the burger, thought it was garbage and took it for himself.

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When the man realized the burger was the subject of a super-sized search, he brought it back to the restaurant.

"He was a little bit sheepish," Shields recounted.

"I was originally going to give him the speech about backing up onto somebody's property and just takin' stuff and then once I met him and realized he was an older gentleman and it was an honest mistake, I just left left the speech for another day."

Shields says he and the man parted amicably.

Shields says he's not mad about the situation. He bluntly said that the boost in business the incident garnered him through social media has been the perfect side dish to the whole thing.

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With files from CBC Radio One's Radio West