McKees Rocks' Eat'n Park to close after 53 years
There will be a few less smiles in McKees Rocks.
Eat’n Park, known for its signature Smiley Cookies, will close its Chartiers Avenue location on June 16 after 53 years.
“ We are disappointed we won’t be able to serve the McKees Rocks community for another 50 years, but our lease was not renewed,” said Kevin O’Connell, chief marketing officer in an email.
The restaurant location is being redeveloped into a new office development by Trinity Commercial Development of Emsworth, O’Connell said.
He said that the employees have always been the heart and soul of the restaurant. They have been offered an opportunity to transfer to a nearby location within the Eat’n Park Hospitality Group.
The closest restaurants are Avalon, Banksville Road in Pittsburgh and Robinson. Most are going to Avalon and Robinson, O’Connell said. He said the company is paying for bus passes for them and will make sure they can work convenient times around the bus schedules.
“We will still be serving smiles every day until we close,” he said. “And we invite our McKees Rocks neighbors to stop in to share their memories and say farewell over the next few weeks.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.