Smiley Cookie
 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]
References
[edit]- ^ "Eat'n Park Blog". blog.eatnpark.com.
- ^ a b c Cato, Jason (January 25, 2010). "Eat'n Park takes on Texas company over its Smiley Face cookie". Tribune-Review. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
- ^ "Kings Family Restaurants Sold To San Diego Private Equity Firm". 23 April 2015.
- ^ "Find Smiley | Eat'n Park Restaurants". www.eatnpark.com.
- ^ "USPTO Trademark Status & Document Retrieval: Smiley Face Cookie". tsdr.uspto.gov. February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
- ^ Ove, Torsten (May 21, 2015). "Eat'n Park sues Chicago cookie-maker over Smiley trademark". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
- ^ Brandolph, Adam (May 20, 2015). "No smile here: Eat'n Park sues Chicago cookie maker". Tribune-Review. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
- ^ Swift, Megan (December 12, 2024). "St. Louis bakery embroiled in smiley cookies trademark dispute with Eat'n Park". Trib LIVE. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
External links
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