Do you remember your first Smiley Cookie from Eat’n Park?
“If you grew up in Pittsburgh, everybody goes to Eat ‘n Park eventually, and part of growing up in Pittsburgh is you get a free Smiley Cookie with your kids meal,” said Kevin O’Connell, Chief Marketing Officer at Eat’n Park Hospitality Group. “It’s ingrained in the growing-up experience in Pittsburgh. It’s a rite of passage. After that, you always have the connection.”
Eat’n Park was established in 1949 as a carhop “like Happy Days,” said O’Connell, “no roller skates though.”
“Larry Hatch [the owner at the time] wanted to call it Park’n Eat, but you couldn’t trademark Park’n Eat, because it was in the public domain. Back then if you drove on the highway, there wasn’t always restaurants off every exit, so people would bring picnics and stop at a park ‘n eat area.”
Hatch flipped the words, and Eat’n Park was born. Thirty-seven years later, in 1986, the Smiley Cookie was introduced along with the inclusion of bakeries in all Eat’n Park restaurants. Jim Broadhurst, then CEO of Eat’n Park, (Broadhurst bought the Eat’n Park Company from Hatch in 1984) looked to his hometown in Titusville for guidance.
“When he [Broadhurst] was a kid growing up in Titusville, his mom would give him a nickel every day and he would stop at Warner’s Bakery and get a smiling cookie. He partnered with Warner’s Bakery to teach us how to do baked goods.”
Broadhurst obtained the rights from Warner’s Bakery to allow Eat’n Park to create the Smiley Cookie and trademarked it. The Smiley Cookie is inspired by the Warner’s Bakery cookie, but not an exact replica.
The intention for the Smiley Cookie was solely to be a giveaway for kids. That didn’t last long; everyone wanted one. Eat’n Park began selling the popular cookie in restaurants and continued this for the next five years.
“In 1991, our agency person at the time who became our head of marketing, Cliff Miller, said to the President, ‘This could be your Mickey Mouse, it shouldn’t just be a cookie, it should be your brand.’ From that point on, we became ‘Eat‘n Park, The Place for Smiles.’”
The Smiley Cookie became synonymous with Eat’n Park, even gaining national recognition. But, make no mistake; the Smiley Cookie is a Pittsburgh thing.
The Smiley Cookie skyrocketed in popularity in 2006 when the Pittsburgh Steelers became Super Bowl XL Champions, defeating the Seattle Seahawks. With gold for the base icing and black icing for the smile, the Smiley Cookie was a great party accessory. There were 350,000 Smiley Cookies sold in one week. The Eat’n Park website crashed fulfilling orders.
“Every able-bodied person who could hold a spatula when out to ice,” said John Frick, Director of Menu Development for Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, remembering the craziness of that week.
In 2009, when the Steelers clinched another Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLIII, Eat’n Park sold 500,000 Smiley Cookies during the week leading up to the game, and 600,000 the following week.
The fame of the Smiley Cookie continues to grow with new designs, including seasonal and holiday offerings. The week of Valentine’s Day is the biggest selling week. The most popular design is the Classic Halloween Smiley Cookie, where candy corn replaces icing for the eyes and nose.
Eat’n Park produces more than 10 million Smiley Cookies annually. This number includes the free cookies given to children, online and restaurant sales as well as donations to local events and nonprofits.
“We used to roll them [Smiley Cookies] out in restaurants,” said Frick. “When you see the number how many we go through, there is a reason why we have a cookie factory now.”
The dough is processed in their Distribution Center in Robinson. Frozen dough is then sent to all the restaurants where they bake and hand ice each one.
Icing the iconic smile is harder than it looks – and I got to try it for myself. The icing is fluid, and you have to let the icing guide you. With a brief tutorial from Frick, I gave it a go. It was intimidating. The smile represents so much – connection, togetherness, comfort and most importantly, the warm culture of Pittsburgh.
“Whenever people talk about what is uniquely Pittsburgh, it’s the Smiley Cookie,” said O’Connell.
Smiley Cookies can be purchased at any Eat’n Park Restaurant or online.
Hi Jessa . Kathy from Warner’s Bakery in Titusville, PA. I enjoyed your Smiley Cookie story. I know at one time Eat N Park did make them just like Warner’s Bakery original recipe but through the years and with high demand, they needed to streamline the process. But what you might not know is Jim Broadhurst at Eat n Park did graciously give us at Warner’s Bakery written permission to continue to make the original Smiley cookie, that’s Ellsworth Warner’s original recipe. My family loves Eat N Park and eat there every chance we get (in Reno, PA or Erie); but we sure encourage you to stop into the Bakery sometime and try one of the original recipe cookies. Titusville folks are proud of our connection with Eat n Park and love to share our part of the history.
Kathy, thank you for the additional information! I did not find in my research the original recipe from Ellsworth or the fact written permission was given from Eat ‘n Park, which only enriches the Smiley Cookie story. Thank you for shining the light on this information, it is important to share! 2020, trip planned to Titusville!
Interesting article. Recently, I discovered something that still puzzles me. Maybe, as a reporter, you can look into it. I have a nephew that has several food allergies…one being peanuts. The Smiley Cookie Company advertises that it is a nut free facility. Great!! Unfortunately, when they ship the dough to the restaurants, their bakeries are NOT nut free. Even though the dough is, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be cross-contamination. We discovered this painfully. We thought the cookie was safe for him and would buy it. He loves the cookie and has not had an allergic reaction. One day, his mother promised to get him a cookie. They went into the restaurant, and for some reason she asked if the cookie was allergen free. She was told they couldn’t guarantee cross-contamination. Needless to say, she left there with a crying child. I called 2 restaurants and was told the same thing. One person said that it was probably safe if he hadn’t had a reaction. You would think that but it’s not really true. I emailed the cookie company who assured me they were nut free and they work with the bakeries to ensure proper handling but NO GUARANTEES!! So, if he wants a cookie, I order it online. They come individually wrapped. I don’t know why they can’t provide some to the stores in case there is someone who has a nut allergy especially since they give them to children after a meal there.
They are unable to give a 100% guarantee simply because there are peanuts and tree nuts in the building. That means it is not a nut free facility. While the restaurant do take precautions to prevent cross contamination (using designated containers for nuts, etc.) there is always the possibility of it happening anyway. Peanut dust really is a thing. As far as shipping them into the restaurant from the factory in individually wrapped packaging, the same scenario would take place. Peanut dust could still possibly get into the packaging, which would then get onto the person’s hands, causing a reaction.
Hope this helps!
I have eaten many Smilie cookies from Warners bakery over the years. As a child I lived next door to Mr. Warner’s sister and played with her children and sometimes we went to Warner’s house and visit their children. The original cookies are better than the mass produced ones.
There is a shop in the Pittsburgh Airport where you used to be able to buy mini-Smiley Cookies individually wrapped., perfect in this pandemic conscious world. They recently stopped carrying them and I was disappointed because they make a great “Gift from Pittsburgh”. I wish that they would once again be available there.
To ADD to this wonderful story of the SMILEY COOKIE — I personally know JIM BROADHURST as do the Licht’s of Warner’s Bakery and many others of Titusville — and the point I will stress — JIM BROADHURST is never without a SMILE. He was a terrific basketball player at Titusville (PA) High School, home of the ROCKETS –brown & gold. I would say his smile carried the team back then, as his company’s team carry the smile today (May 17, 2021). My father worked for the Universal-Cyclops Steel
in Titusville, and Jim’s father was my father’s boss. My dad stated many times over, that Elmore Broadhurst was the BEST boss he ever had. Boss meaning president of the company, if my memory is correct. Elmore came out on the dusted floors to make sure the machines were running properly and cared about the employee. JIM has followed his father’s footsteps quite well. Caring for his small town in many ways — scholarships for the high school seniors, and for the local campus of University of Pittsburgh at Titusville, which is presently being restructured to include a HUB for industrial education. UPT is known for their wonderful nursing and physical therapy schooling. That in itself, exemplifies the Broadhurst Family. We are proud of Jim, Suzie and family, as well as the Eat-N-Park family.
In my early years of the ’50’s my family traveled to Pittsburgh and stopped at the Eat-N-Park on Route 8 S — I am sure it has been replaced by another Eat-N-Park or a highway leading into the BIG CITY.
We are Black=n-Gold proud of the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates as well as the University of Pittsburgh Blue and Gold. A real connection for all.