Shelburne crowns winner in Best Burger in the Burne competition

Written By JOSHUA DRAKES

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Main St. Cafe has been crowned the winner in a local competition that drew strong participation from businesses across the community, marking a notable achievement for the popular eatery.

Another year of friendly competition in Shelburne has come to a close, with the winning of the Best Burger in the Burne competition being confirmed.

Main St. Cafe, located in the heart of town, has defeated all challengers and claimed victory, showing that it has the best burgers of 2026.

Owner Joanne Ferrier-Krol, who received the contest's award on April 28, said she was shocked by the win.

“I honestly didn't think we had a chance to win,” she said. “We're a small place, we have 29 seats here, and we were going head-to-head with bigger spots in town with double our capacity, some up to like 70 seats. But we've won, and I'm very happy about it.”

Ferrier-Krol took over the business about five years ago, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being sporadically open and closed for years, the business held strong and weathered the storm that shuttered many small businesses across the province.

Coming out of the pandemic, Ferrier-Krol said that they've been in continuous operation for three years now and have no plans of standing still or calling it quits.

“It's been a really good five years,” she said. “It's been a lot of learning for me, but also a lot of good times. Business is steady. I've been able to make a lot of friends here. But there's always room for improvement. We're always trying new things and seeing what we can add or change on the menu.”

Ferrier-Krol refused to take solo credit for the win. She called out her entire team, saying they all contributed to this victory.

Running throughout March, the Best Burger in the Burne is a friendly competition designed to boost traffic in the downtown core during the late winter, early spring season. Every restaurant that chooses to compete features a specialty burger created for the contest.

Customers can visit as many locations as they like, as many times as they'd like, and taste the featured entries and cast their vote.

It was originally started in 2023 as a local initiative to attract more customers and foot traffic to the downtown core of Shelburne, in an attempt to get some more business for the companies located in the heart of town.

“The Shelburne BIA wants to thank everyone for participating in the 4th Annual Best Burger in the Burne' contest. The competition is always intense, and this year was no different,” said Shelburne Councillor Len Guchardi.

“I am happy to extend our congratulations to this year's winner, The Main Street Cafe. At the end of the day, we have had great success generating some traffic in the downtown core, all while having a friendly competition between the local restaurants located in the BIA. I will add that in the four years we have run Best Burger in the Burne', we have had four different winners.”