{"id":233092,"date":"2026-07-01T19:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/233092\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T19:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:29:09","slug":"something-to-smile-about-eatn-parks-iconic-cookie-turns-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/233092\/","title":{"rendered":"Something to Smile About: Eat’n Park’s Iconic Cookie Turns 40"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"C01ae113<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY EAT\u2019N PARK<\/p>\n

Eat\u02bcn Park\u02bcs Smiley Cookie<\/a> celebrates the Big 4-0 this year, but that hasn\u2019t dulled his enthusiasm for life.<\/p>\n

The cheerful treat was recently named the \u201cCoolest Thing Made in PA\u201d in a bracket-style competition sponsored by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh restaurant chain bakes nearly 8 million Smiley Cookies every year, donating more than 200,000 to community events and charitable organizations. Plus, every kid who dines at \u201cThe Place for Smiles\u201d gets a cookie at the end of their meal.<\/p>\n

\"312f422e<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY EAT\u2019N PARK<\/p>\n

Smiley debuted when I was 7 and has helped this lifelong pessimist turn her frown upside down a number of times. (Admittedly, when it comes to emotive pastries, I prefer the King\u2019s Family Restaurant Frownie.)<\/p>\n

While growing up in Titusville, former Eat\u2019n Park chairman Jim Broadhurst made regular after-school visits to Warner\u2019s Bakery for their big, beaming sugar cookies. In 1986, with owner Ellsworth Warner\u2019s blessing, he put his own spin on Smiley Cookies and added them to Eat\u2019n Park\u2019s offerings.<\/p>\n

And a Pittsburgh icon was born.<\/p>\n

\"B9040c09<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY EAT\u2019N PARK<\/p>\n

I learned these bits \u2014 or, in this case, bites \u2014 of trivia from Lynn McMahon, a local author who literally wrote the book on Eat\u2019n Park for the company\u2019s 75th anniversary in 2022. It\u2019s a fun read that\u2019ll make you smile through big, fat, nostalgic tears. I was thrilled to find a photo of my great aunt, Kathy Carter, who worked at the McKees Rocks location for 30 years.<\/p>\n

There have been dozens of limited-edition Smileys over the decades, ranging from seasonal shapes to famous faces that include artist Andy Warhol, documentarian Rick Sebak, \u201cPittsburgh Dad\u201d Curt Wootton, Pirates phenom pitcher Paul Skenes and Steelers Brett Keisel and Cam Heyward.<\/p>\n

During the Merry Berry Month of May, Smiley got a makeover with strawberry icing and pink features. Eat\u2019n Park\u2019s Merry Berry and Christmas Star commercials get a lot of attention, but I urge you to search YouTube for Smiley\u2019s 1992 claymation spot produced by the same company that gave us the California Raisins.<\/p>\n

\"7f7f0957<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY EAT\u2019N PARK<\/p>\n

Interest in Smiley Cookies spiked during the Super Bowl in 2006 when Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O\u2019Connor and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels wagered some of their respective city\u2019s sweets. After the Steelers won the Lombardi Trophy, Smiley Cookie distribution went nationwide.<\/p>\n

In addition to a multitude of merch, the mascot has a hot air balloon and his own sweet ride, the Cookie Cruiser, which transports him to hundreds of appearances throughout the region. Hungry fans can go online to add personal photos to Smiley Cookies or order a decorating kit to create a dozen in their own likeness.<\/p>\n

Despite his popularity with children, Smiley does have adult detractors, who say he\u2019s just too sweet. I\u2019m assuming these sourpusses won\u2019t be celebrating National Sugar Cookie Day on July 9 with an offering from Eat\u2019n Park.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just the way the cookie crumbles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOTO COURTESY EAT\u2019N PARK Eat\u02bcn Park\u02bcs Smiley Cookie celebrates the Big 4-0 this year, but that hasn\u2019t dulled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-233092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}