On Saturday, May 31, the 11th annual Burger Wars was hosted in downtown Opelika, with 22 grillers competing for cash prizes, trophies and bragging rights. Hosted by the Opelika Rotary Charitable Foundation, the goal was not only to create a competitive culinary environment but also to fundraise for local charities.
Beginning at 11 a.m., the competition consisted of three main categories: Tailgater, Corporate and Pro. Attendees of the event were able to purchase tasting tickets to vote for their favorite burger within each category.
In addition to culinary tasting, Burger Wars offered live music, kid-friendly activities and the opportunity to support local philanthropies.
“This is a fun, family-friendly event with a big impact,” Brooke Kastner, Burger Wars 2025 chair, said. “Each sample goes toward helping important causes right here in our community.”
Local restaurants comprised a large part of the event, with businesses like The Depot, Zazu Gastropub and The Waverly Local showing off their burger creations.
“We’ve been having meetings and planning for this event for several weeks, putting a game plan together," said Josh Nagel, director of operations for The Waverly Local. "So, when the day actually comes, you’re prepared, and it should go pretty smoothly.”
The dish chosen for Burger Wars is one that Nagel calls their signature burger, also known as the "War Burger."
“It’s a recipe that my business partner and some of his friends concocted back when they were in college,” Nagel said. “It has cheese, a beef patty, onions, pickles, mustard and war sauce.”
Local restaurants were not the only competitors seen at Burger Wars, as the Opelika Public Library created its own literary-inspired burger.
“Our burger is called the Out-Slider, and it has a cherry jalapeño jam on it," library director Rosana McGinnis said. "We were looking for a literary theme to represent that we’re the library, and we wanted to do sliders, so that kind of all came together."
Preparation for the Opelika Public Library began bright and early, with teams having designated jobs to ensure smooth operations.
“We had a ton of preparation. There was a behind the scenes team designing the burger and getting ready for the event," McGinnis said. "We started setting up at 8 a.m., and now we’re cooking, serving people and ready to go.”
Auburn University’s own Tiger Dining was also in attendance, submitting its smash-burger taco. Ahead of each Burger Wars, Tiger Dining hopes to bring a new and exciting dish for community members.
“Our two head chefs put their heads together, and we try to make it different every year,” said marketing coordinator McKenzie Herring. "We thought, ‘How can we be different?’ We really wanted to try something new.”
Beyond the test tasting and friendly competition, the heart of Burger Wars is the power of food to bring people together.
“It’s so crowded out here. It’s an awesome thing when you have a beautiful community getting together to try food,” Herring said. “Food brings everybody together.”
Hunters for Christ, a small group affiliated with Church of the Highlands, made an appearance at Burger Wars, sharing their burger and friendship with fellow community members.
“Our burger is called the Backwoods Smash. It has a brioche bun, beef and pork mix, smoked gouda cheese, an onion ring and a bourbon peach glaze,” said Nathan Baker, a Hunters for Christ member. “We were supposed to have the name of the burger before today, so we all put our heads together.”
As a four-time competitor, Hunters for Christ has seen both familiar and new faces this year.
“The best part has been getting to see everyone again," Baker said. "This is our fourth year competing, and seeing how large this event has grown has been amazing.”
Julian White and Austin Green, attendees of Burger Wars, shared what qualities of the event drew them in.
“I only heard about this event a couple days ago, so I didn’t know what to expect,” White said. “It’s exciting to see all the different vendors and all of the variety.”
Green shared a similar opinion, as the cost efficiency and variety of the event influenced him to attend.
“I was excited to hear that you can try a burger for two dollars, and also, the different chefs and recipes made me open to the whole experience,” Green said.
Blake Orun, a two-time attendee of Burger Wars, described the value of attending alongside his children and participating in kid-friendly activities, like touring emergency service vehicles courtesy of local first responders.
“It was really fun. It was our first time doing that with them,” Orun said. “The kids enjoyed seeing the fire trucks and helicopter.”
Opelika Rotary Charitable Foundation will use the funds raised from Burger Wars to support the Food Bank of East Alabama, the primary beneficiary of the event. The proceeds will benefit the food bank's backpack program, which provides children in need with nutritious, balanced food every Friday during the school year.
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