Smiley Cookie

{{Infobox food

| name = Smiley Cookie

| image = Steelers Smiley cookie.jpg

| caption = A black and gold Smiley Cookie appears at a rally for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011.

| country = United States

| region = Western Pennsylvania

}}

File:Great Race Kuwait.jpg

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.{{cite web|url=http://blog.eatnpark.com/2011/01/eatn-park-restaurants-and-history-of.html|title=Eat'n Park Blog|website=blog.eatnpark.com}} It was trademarked in 1987. 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.{{cite web|url=http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/04/23/kings-family-restaurants-sold-to-san-diego-private-equity-firm/|title=Kings Family Restaurants Sold To San Diego Private Equity Firm|date=23 April 2015}} 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".{{Cite web|url=https://www.eatnpark.com/find-smiley|title=Find Smiley | Eat'n Park Restaurants|website=www.eatnpark.com}}

Eat'n Park filed several lawsuits against companies outside the restaurants' operating area to enforce its trademark{{Cite web|url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74305316&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch|title=USPTO Trademark Status & Document Retrieval: Smiley Face Cookie|date=February 5, 2017|website=tsdr.uspto.gov|language=en|access-date=February 5, 2017}} on the Smiley Cookie.{{Cite news|url=http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/tribpm/s_663965.html|title=Eat'n Park takes on Texas company over its Smiley Face cookie|last=Cato|first=Jason|date=January 25, 2010|newspaper=Tribune-Review|access-date=February 5, 2017|location=Pittsburgh, PA|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/business/pittsburgh-company-news/2015/05/21/Eat-n-Park-sues-Chicago-cookie-maker-over-Smiley-pittsburgh/stories/201505210174|title=Eat'n Park sues Chicago cookie-maker over Smiley trademark|last=Ove|first=Torsten|date=May 21, 2015|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=February 5, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/8408559-74/eat-park-chicago|title=No smile here: Eat'n Park sues Chicago cookie maker|last=Brandolph|first=Adam|date=May 20, 2015|newspaper=Tribune-Review|access-date=February 5, 2017|location=Pittsburgh, PA|language=en-US}}

On December 31, 2010, the Eat'n Park corporation filed a federal lawsuit in Texas against Crumb Corps for infringing on the trademarked cookie.

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.{{Cite web|url=https://triblive.com/local/regional/st-louis-bakery-embroiled-in-smiley-cookies-trademark-dispute-with-eatn-park/|title=St. Louis bakery embroiled in smiley cookies trademark dispute with Eat'n Park|last=Swift|first=Megan|date=December 12, 2024|website=Trib LIVE|access-date=December 19, 2024}}