Fan picks up breakfast tab for The Clarks' Scott Blasey at Eat'n Park

Scott Blasey, lead vocalist for the Pittsburgh-based rock band The Clarks, was having the Breakfast Smile and an orange juice in a booth at the Eat’n Park in Kirwan Heights on Wednesday.

“It’s my favorite meal at Eat’n Park,” said Blasey, who lives in Peters.

As he finished his meal, a woman sitting in the booth across from him approached him and asked if his name was Scott.

“She said she was a really big fan, she had seen the band in the past, she really appreciated our music and our music had brought her a lot of joy,” Blasey told the Tribune-Review on Friday. “Then she said, ‘I bought your breakfast, I took care of the bill.’”

Blasey said he told her she didn’t need to buy him breakfast. She insisted.

“She said, ‘I want to for all you did for me,’” Blasey said.

The exchange lasted only a few moments and he didn’t even catch her name — but the moment stuck with him for the rest of the day.

“It was just the sweetest, kindest interaction,” Blasey said. “It was just one of those moments in life when I’m just thankful I get to do what I get to do.”

People will occasionally approach Blasey to introduce themselves and offer kind words about his music. The band has been around for about 35 years and they’ve played plenty of shows, so it’s not uncommon for a fan to recognize him.

But it never gets old, Blasey said.

“She’s not the first person to do that or to say nice things about the band — maybe the first to buy me breakfast,” Blasey said.

Her face and her words kept popping into his mind throughout the day, Blasey said. After dinner that day, he decided to share the act of kindness with his followers on Twitter. He tweeted about the interaction and wrote that it “made my day.”

A woman bought my breakfast at @EatnPark this morning. She was in the booth across from me, recognized me, and had seen @theclarks many times. She was so appreciative of our music. She said paying for me was least she could do for all the joy we’d brought her. Made my day.

— Scott Blasey (@scottblasey) June 9, 2021

“Even if she wouldn’t have bought my meal, it’s always wonderful when people say hello, introduce themselves, tell me they’re a fan of the band and thank me for doing what I do,” he said. “It’s just a beautiful, beautiful thing.”

Those moments are particularly meaningful as people emerge from a year when many felt isolated during the covid-19 pandemic, Blasey said, noting that even a simple hello from a stranger spreads kindness.

“The world needs more kindness, honestly,” he said.

Blasey said he tries to practice that in his own life, whether it’s stopping to say hello to a family with kids or taking advantage of the opportunity for a small act of kindness in daily life. He said that’s the kind of thing everyone should try to incorporate in their lives.

“For me personally, it just reinforces my feeling that if something moves you, or you see an act of kindness, or you see somebody you recognize, don’t be shy,” Blasey said. “Take a moment to say hello, to introduce yourself, to recognize that kindness. I try to do that, too.”

Blasey said his Tweet about the fan buying his breakfast has gotten “a lot of attention.”

Eat’n Park replied to his Tweet, writing, “This made us smile.”

This made us smile? Thanks for the visit and for sharing!

— Eat'n Park (@EatnPark) June 10, 2021

“We love hearing about the many acts of kindness that so frequently happen in our restaurants, and when we heard about this one, it really made us smile,” said Amanda Giacobbi, an Eat’n Park spokesperson.

Blasey said he’s a “big fan” of Eat’n Park restaurants and often gets takeout from their location on Route 19 in Peters.

“I actually wrote a funny song called ‘The Eat’n Park Song’ that I play from time to time,” he said.

While Eat’n Park is known for their smiley cookies, it was a stranger’s kindness that put a smile on Blasey’s face that day.

“It just keeps popping into my head about how nice that was,” he said of the woman’s kind gesture to buy his meal.

Blasey said he wondered whether the woman might have seen his tweet about her and whether she knew it was garnering attention. If so, he said, he hopes she reaches out to him about it.

“I would love to know who she is,” he said. “I thanked her profusely when she did it, but to know her her name would be really nice. To be able to invite her and some friends to a show in the future would be a nice way to pay it back, to thank her again.”