News

Eat'n Park's Smiley® Cookie Gets Ready for a Facelift

Public Invited to Vote for New Color of Popular Cookie; Winning Color will be First Since 1986

July 17, 2005

PITTSBURGH, July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Pittsburgh's favorite cookie is getting a facelift. A color facelift that is. Eat'n Park Restaurants invites the public to vote for the first new Smiley® cookie color in more than 19 years by logging onto www.eatnpark.com and clicking on the News & Promotions section until August 10. The new color will join other Smiley cookie colors -- blue, green, yellow, red and orange and will make history as the first cookie color to be selected by the public.

The region's largest family dining chain decided to add the new color because guests repeatedly ask for different colors for special events and occasions. According to Kevin O'Connell, senior vice president, Eat'n Park, the company has enjoyed huge success with special edition Smiley cookies in the shape of hearts for Valentine's Day, green clover Smileys on St. Patrick's Day and even fish-shaped Smiley cookies are currently available to commemorate Pittsburgh's upcoming Bassmasters Tournament.

"We can't make our special edition Smiley cookies fast enough," he said. "Guests are always clamoring for a new face or shape for Smiley, so we're listening to our fans and asking them to help us select a new color for our classic Smiley cookie in a fun way. The new color will be a nice addition for our guests as we get ready to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Smiley cookie next year."

People can select their favorite color from a list of some of the most requested hues, including teal, purple, gold, brown, navy blue and lime green. The winning color will be announced and made available to the public beginning September 1st.

According to O'Connell, members of the Smiley Email Club have already begun voting and there are clearly some colors leading the pack. "We've already had thousands of votes from our Email Club, and there appears to be an early leader," said O'Connell, "but I'll never tell." People do not have to be part of Smiley's Email Club to vote for their favorite color, but O'Connell encourages Club membership because it offers promotional discounts and monthly company updates.

Eat'n Park's trademarked Smiley cookie was created in 1986 and serves as a recognizable icon for the company. The neighborhood dining chain expects to serve more than eight million cookies this year in its restaurants and at community events.

Smiley cookies are prepared fresh in Eat'n Park's 75 restaurant locations daily and are available in dozen, half-dozen, or single servings, plus each child age 10 and under visiting Eat'n Park always receives a free cookie.

Eat'n Park Restaurants is an award-winning family restaurant and bakery chain with 79 locations in three states with more than 8,000 team members company-wide. Eat'n Park's properties also include the Park Classic Diners, which are retro eateries reminiscent of the company's roots. The chain is a division of the Eat'n Park Hospitality Group based in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The Eat'n Park Hospitality Group is a portfolio of foodservice concepts focused on personalized dining. Founded in 1949 as a carhop restaurant, today it has grown to include Eat'n Park Restaurants, Parkhurst Dining Services -- the company's contract dining division, providing contract dining services to businesses, universities, and cultural centers, and CURA Hospitality -- providing contract dining and management service for senior living communities. For more information, guests are invited to visit www.eatnpark.com.