Eat'n Park Offers American Idol Runner-Up Katharine McPhee $100,000 Recording Contract and Smiley Cookies for Life to Sing Jingle

Eat'n Park Offers American Idol Runner-Up Katharine McPhee $100,000 Recording Contract and Smiley Cookies for Life to Sing Jingle

PITTSBURGH, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The voice people might be hearing on Eat'n Park's new summer commercial should be familiar. If the chain's $100,000 deal is accepted, it will be the voice of Katharine McPhee, American Idol's first runner-up from Fox TV's hotly contested singing competition.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060518/CLTH051LOGO-a
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060518/CLTH051-b )

Eat'n Park, one of the country's leading family restaurant chains, is offering McPhee not only a $100,000 recording contract, but also is sweetening the deal by throwing in a lifetime supply of Smiley cookies, the dining chain's popular treat, sold in its restaurants and online at http://www.eatnpark.com/ .

"We're excited about the prospect of pairing Eat'n Park with one of America's hottest young singers," said Kevin O'Connell, senior vice president, Marketing, Eat'n Park. "Katharine's All-American sound and work ethic fit perfectly with the Eat'n Park family dining experience, so we're excited about offering her the opportunity to lend her trademark voice to our brand."

The new jingle will be unveiled later this summer in coordination with the 20th anniversary of the Smiley cookie. Eat'n Park is working on its new sound with singer/songwriter Bob Corbin. Corbin is famous for several #1 pop and country hits, including "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" and "Fire in the Night," for super group Alabama and more recently, for his work with the Povertyneck Hillbillies.

Eat'n Park Restaurants, founded in 1949 as a family carhop, is an award- winning family restaurant chain with 77 locations in three states and is a member of the Eat'n Park Hospitality Group, a leading, regional multi-concept foodservice company.

Other brands operated by the Group include, Park Classic Diner, a retro-eatery reminiscent of the company's roots, Six Penn Kitchen, an upscale American Bistro, Parkhurst Dining Services, a provider of contract-dining services to businesses, universities, and cultural centers; and CURA Hospitality, which offers contract dining and management services for senior living communities. Across its dining brands, the Eat'n Park Hospitality Group employs more than 8,000 team members in seven northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. http://www.eatnpark.com/

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060518/CLTH051LOGO-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060518/CLTH051-b
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Eat'n Park Restaurants

CONTACT: Kevin O'Connell of Eat'n Park Restaurants, +1-412-476-2456;
Brian Tedeschi, +1-412-638-5981, cell, brian@thinkcreativity.com, or Kirstian
Druschel, both of Think Inc. for Eat'n Park Restaurants, +1-412-281-9228

Web site: http://www.eatnpark.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment