VOTE: 2025 Auburn Grubserver Awards
The Grubserver pod is coming back, and you'll decide which Auburn area restaurants will get recommended in our first awards show.
For the last two years, right before the start of Auburn football season, we have done a bonus podcast called The Auburn Grubserver. In this podcast, we give listeners answers to one of the most popular questions we get each year: “I’m coming to Auburn for a game, where should I eat while I’m here?”
The first edition of the podcast was just Justin and Dan’s personal picks. The second edition was a speed run through listener suggestions.
The third edition will be our biggest one yet, because we’re doing a full-blown awards show.
At the button below, Observer subscribers will be able to submit their Grubserver ballots. We have 14 distinct categories this year, along with a space for voters to give their thoughts that we might share on air during the show.
Two things: First, you may notice that Pannie George’s — the original star of the first Grubserver — is not in any of the categories. That is because we are making it our very first Grubserver Hall of Fame selection. It’s our ultimate recommendation. Additionally, the top vote-getter in this year’s Grubserver awards will be our 2026 Hall of Fame inductee.
Second, in order to save space on the ballot, we have pre-selected four top nominations for each category. However, you will be able to write-in your own pick. For some categories, this was absolutely necessary, because there are too many excellent options out there.
We’re asking for one ballot per Observer subscriber, because we’ll be tracking emails. We also aren’t sure when voting will close, but we will give people plenty of time to know before we make that final decision. The Grubserver Awards Show will be a podcast sometime during the month of August.
Also: We’re limiting suggestions to Auburn, Opelika, Waverly and the surrounding area. (Don’t give us Columbus or Montgomery picks.) We have a few chains on the ballot, but they’re pretty much all smaller, regional ones. No national chains, please.
On Friday, we’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming here at The Observer, with a mailbag and a podcast for subscribers. (Send in your questions for the mailbag to the1andonlyJF@gmail.com and tell me your favorite thing that you did this summer.)
Click the button below to cast your ballot, and thanks for making The Auburn Observer the No. 1 sports nerd and food-obsessed publication in Greater Lee County.