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Thursday, February 27, 2014

BOGO Pie Coupon!

Our National Pie Month celebration is almost over, so here's one sweet coupon you won't want to miss: buy one slice of pie and get one free, valid Friday, February 28th!

Valid Friday, February 28th, 2014 only. 
Coupon must be printed to be redeemed. 

Want to receive great Eat'n Park coupons delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for Smiley's Email Club!

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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

PA Farm Show 2014

On January 7th I made my annual trip to the PA Farm Show complex in Harrisburg, PA to attend the 98th Pennsylvania Farm Show. It’s the largest indoor agricultural exposition in the nation, with close to 6,000 animals and over 10,000 exhibits.

The highlight of the show for me is the 4-H livestock auction. 4-H is the nation’s largest youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture. Their mission is to "engage youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development. The name represents four personal development areas of focus for the organization: head, heart, hands, and health.” Kids who participate in 4-H learn how to tend to their animals from birth, and are responsible for feeding, cleaning and bedding the animal on a daily basis. In preparation for the show and auction, these young farmers groom and harness-train their animals in hopes of receiving Grand Champion honors from the Farm Show judges. Following judging, every animal is auctioned off to buyers, with the Grand Champion animals usually receiving the highest bids. This money goes directly to the 4-H participant, and is most often used to fund their future college education.

This is the reason that we love to participate in the 4-H auction – it’s a great way to support youths in our state, while also obtaining high-quality local meats. With the success of our FarmSource purchasing program, we want to encourage the development of local farms that may later become one of our suppliers, and this is one way of planting that seed. At this year’s auction, I purchased 12 hogs from youngsters throughout Pennsylvania, located within close proximity to one of our restaurants. Here are the kids we supported and the county where they reside:

Dilan Henry - Westmoreland
Scott Gardner - Fayette
Hannah Zundel - Westmoreland
Kaitlyn Ferko - Somerset
Courtney Hess - Erie
Dalton Stewart - Clarion
Kelly Pierce - Indiana
Dalton Bollman - Bedford
Evan Kamp - Berks
Nikolaus Smeal - Cambria
Paige Pearson - Blair
Jacob Schooley - Lawrence

It’s really rewarding for me to see these young soon-to-be farmers understanding and embracing a rewarding farm life. Hopefully I’ll be seeing them in a few years running their own farms or helping out at their family operation!

Until next time,

Jamie


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Monday, February 17, 2014

Culinary Trends of 2014

I always get excited when the National Restaurant Association publishes their annual “What’s Hot” list of culinary trends for the coming year.

Below is a list of some of the top trends for 2014, and an example of what we’re planning (or already doing!) to keep up with each. For Eat’n Park, though some of these items may be trendy, they’re already old hat for us. For instance, we’ve been passionate about local sourcing for more than 10 years. We’re excited that other restaurants are catching on – the more our industry can support local producers, the better it is for everyone! Read on for the rest of this year’s trends.

1. Locally sourced meats and seafood
We source our bacon, sausage and hams from Clemens Food Group in Hatfield, PA. We also purchase Capocollo and Chorizo Sausage from Parma Sausage in the Strip District.

2. Locally grown produce
We’ve been sourcing locally-grown produce since 2002. Click here to learn more about our FarmSource program. This program has continued to grow, and now incorporates not just produce, but dairy, meat, and artisanal products as well.

3. Environmental sustainability
Did you know that 100% of our restaurants recycle cardboard and fryer oil, and 75% of them recycle glass and aluminum? Sustainability is a huge part of our company culture.

4. Healthful kids’ meals
We offer a variety of healthy menu items for kids, including our Soup, Salad and Fruit Bar! It’s actually our #1 seller for kids!

5. Gluten-free cuisine
We take food allergies very seriously and are proud to offer a celiac-friendly menu.

6. Hyper-local sourcing (e.g. restaurant gardens)
We aren’t able to have gardens at all of our Eat’n Park restaurants, however both The Porch at Schenley and Six Penn Kitchen (two of our other restaurant concepts) have rooftop gardens.

7. Children’s nutrition
Through our LifeSmiles program, we are investing $1 million and 20,000 volunteer hours over a five year span to support health and wellness initiatives aimed at families.

8. Sustainable seafood
The cod used in our Baked Cod Floridian, Nantucket Cod, and Baked Cod is from the North Atlantic, which is considered a good alternative on the Seafood Watch.

9. Farm/estate branded items
People are starting to look for specific information about where their food is coming from – including what farm and where it’s located. Throughout the next year, we plan to focus on educating our guests about where our products come from, starting with coffee!

Until next time,

Jamie

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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

New Menu Items

Check out our new menu items – there’s something for everyone!

Pittsburgh Fish Sandwich
Let’s start with our new Pittsburgh Fish Sandwich, featuring a crispy fish filet, Swiss cheese, our homemade chipotle slaw, and seasoned fries piled high between slice of grilled Italian bread. It’s a recipe straight from da 'Burgh. Served with your choice of one side for $8.49.

Spicy Asian Shrimp Salad
Next is our Spicy Asian Shrimp (or Chicken) Salad. This salad is everything you could want and more with mixed greens, mandarin oranges, radishes, green onions, and chow mein noodles topped with crispy shrimp tossed in our spicy Boom Boom sauce. You can also substitute crispy chicken for shrimp. Served with honey ginger dressing and seasonal bread for $8.99.

Grilled Salmon Burger
We’re also featuring a new Grilled Salmon Burger on a Kaiser roll with our chipotle ranch and mixed greens. It’s served with your choice of one side for $7.99. Give it a try – it’s delicious!

Steak'n Egg Sandwich
Or try our new Steak’n Egg Sandwich. We’re talking grilled sliced rib-eye steak, slivered onions, cheese, and a seasoned over-light egg stacked on a toasted bagel. Served with your choice of fresh-cut fruit or breakfast potatoes for $6.49.

Kielbasa Breakfast Stack
You can also sink your teeth into our Kielbasa Breakfast Stack. It features grilled onions, green peppers, and sliced kielbasa served over our home fries and topped with two over-easy eggs and cheddar cheese! It’s served with your choice of toast for $6.99 Trust us; it’s stacked with flavor!


50/50 Tea
Finally, we have our new 50/50 tea. Half lemonade, half iced tea, it’s the perfect refresher to any day. Bring on spring!





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Salad Bar Dinner Deals Are Back!


What’s better than dinner at Eat’n Park? Dinner deals at Eat’n Park! Enjoy any of these delicious dinners, coupled with our endless Soup, Salad, and Fruit Bar! (Available from 4-9PM only.)


Baked Cod
One 4 oz. cod fillet baked with a buttery breadcrumb topping. Served with your choice of one side and our Soup, Salad, and Fruit Bar. $9.99

Baked Cod Floridian
One 4 oz. Cod fillet baked in Sunkist orange juice. Served with your choice of one side and our Soup, Salad, and Fruit Bar. (Eat’n Smart and Celiac-Friendly without seasoning) $9.99

Lemon Sole
Flaky sole filet lightly crusted with Parmesan breadcrumbs and drizzled with butter and fresh squeezed lemon. Served with your choice of one side and our Soup, Salad, and Fruit Bar. (Eat’n Smart) $9.99

Chicken Romano
Housemade Romano-battered chicken sautéed and topped with white wine sauce with capers and fresh lemon. Served with your choice of one side and our Soup, Salad, and Fruit Bar. $10.99

Spaghetti
Barilla spaghetti served with marinara or meat sauce. Served with our Soup, Salad, and Fruit Bar. $8.99



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Free Valentine's Smiley Cookie

Love is all around... And we're sharing some with you! Here's a coupon for a free Valentine Smiley Cookie with your next meal at Eat'n Park!

Expres Friday, February 14th. Coupon must be printed to be redeemed.

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Sign up for Smiley's Email Club!

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Thursday, February 6, 2014

Go for the Gold: Coupon for takeout tomorrow!

Are you watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics tomorrow? Make your dinner plans easy, with takeout from Eat'n Park! Here's a great coupon for 20% off your takeout order, valid tomorrow only!

Valid Friday, February 7th only. Coupon must be printed to be redeemed.

Want to receive great Eat'n Park coupons delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for Smiley's Email Club!

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National Pie Month - $1.99 Slices of Pie



It’s National Pie Month and we’re celebrating all month long by offering $1.99 slices of pie! All day, every day!

Choose from Apple, Chocolate Crème, Lemon Meringue, and many more. What can we say? We think pie is perfectly acceptable for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Just remember that our pie selections vary by location so be sure to ask your server about today’s selections.

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Monday, February 3, 2014

Congratulations to George Seckar, the 2013 Eat’n Park Caring For Kids Car Raffle Winner!

Every year during our Caring for Kids Campaign, we raffle tickets for a chance to win a brand new car, and the selection of the winner is one of the most anticipated events following the campaign. Back in December, we visited Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC to pick the winning ticket.

Last week, we got to present the winner, George Seckar of Lower Burrell, with his brand new 2014 Ford Fusion! George was enjoying breakfast with friends at the Natrona Heights Eat'n Park when he purchased a ticket for the raffle!


We'd like to thank our friends at the Neighborhood Ford Store for graciously donating a vehicle for this raffle. Our car raffle generated over $113,000 for our Caring for Kids Campaign, which benefits local children's hospitals.

Congratulations, George!

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