Hundreds of people stormed a kebab shop in Dortmund on Sunday for a €1 opening offer, pelting police with stones, fireworks and an electric scooter.

The crowd gathered outside Food Lover on Körner Hellweg in eastern Dortmund after the shop advertised a one-off döner kebab for €1. The owner estimated about 1,000 people attended; police put the figure at about 300. Private security guards were quickly overwhelmed, forcing the owner to call police around 2:15pm and cancel the offer.

Officers were attacked with stones, bottles and fireworks. Some also threw nitrous oxide canisters, a chair and an e-scooter. Youths built barricades from e-scooters, and trams on the busy road were stopped temporarily. A patrol car was damaged by a stone. About 100 officers and a helicopter were deployed to restore order. No one was reported injured.

Several people were arrested. One was found with a blank-firing pistol. Suspects, including children, face charges of rioting, resisting officers and criminal damage. Insults are also among the charges. Police are reviewing video footage to identify others. Dortmund Police President Tim Frommeyer condemned the violence. "Anyone who uses violence, in this case once again against police officers, is not an adventure-seeking youth or a troublemaker, but a criminal," he said.

The shop had also advertised prize draws for an iPhone 18 Pro Max and an Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca, but both were scrapped. The owner told followers on Instagram: "It's too much chaos." He said he would donate remaining kebabs to a homeless charity. The shop has been shut down, and police are examining whether the owner could be billed for the operation. A police spokeswoman said that pushing an opening that hard online, with giveaways on top, was always going to bring a massive crowd.

The €1 price was far below the usual cost of a döner. The average price was €7.11 in 2025, up from €3.50 to €4 until about 2020. Germans have nicknamed the increase "Dönerflation." The snack is served more than 1.3 billion times a year. A similar one-cent offer in Dortmund in September 2022 drew more than 400 people.