 A black and gold Smiley Cookie appears at a rally for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011. | |
| Place of origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Western Pennsylvania |
The Smiley cookie is a trademarked cookie that is distributed by the Eat'n Park Corporation of Homestead, Pennsylvania through their restaurants and online business, smileycookie.com. The signature Smiley Cookie was adapted from a cookie an employee enjoyed as a child in Western PA. Eat'n Park began baking their version in 1986 and coincided with the addition of in-store bakeries at its locations. The Smiley Cookie was first produced by Warner's Bakery, a small bakery in Titusville, Pennsylvania. [1] It was trademarked in 1987. [2] The Smiley Cookie became so popular that it was added to the logo of Eat'n Park. A competitor, Kings Family Restaurants produced the "Frownie", a brownie decorated with a frowning face. The "Frownie" was discontinued in 2015 (later returned in early 2019) after Kings was sold to a private equity firm. [3] The costumed Smiley cookie made appearances throughout the Pittsburgh region and travels in a 1974 DIVCO Milk truck, which is now a branded-van known as the "Cookie Cruiser". [4]
Eat'n Park filed several lawsuits against companies outside the restaurants' operating area to enforce its trademark [5] on the Smiley Cookie. [2] [6] [7]
On December 31, 2010, the Eat'n Park corporation filed a federal lawsuit in Texas against Crumb Corps for infringing on the trademarked cookie. [2]
In 2024, Eat'n Park sent a cease and desist letter to McArthur’s Bakery and The Pioneer Cafe in St. Louis. The bakery, which serves as a training facility for disabled adults, was accused of infringing on Eat'n Park's Smiley Cookies. [8]
