He has traveled the world, popping up in Australia, Barbados, France, and at Stonehenge. He has appeared on billboards, in parades, and on television to the delight of fans both young and old. He has also been arrested multiple times and leads a group of juvenile offenders known as the Angry Mob. And all this before the age of 18.
Not too shabby for a giant sentient brownie.
Such is the legacy of the Frownie Brownie, the official mascot of Kings Family Restaurant, a chain launched in 1966 and headquartered in North Versailles. Conceived in 2006, Frownie became the sneering face of a brand known for diner-style comfort food, Kids Eat Free deals on Mondays, and all-day breakfast. While Kings’ presence has diminished, with locations dwindling from 23 in 2019 to four throughout western Pa., Frownie still looms large, including through a recent campaign today resurrected him from a years-long hiatus.
Why Frownie was baked in the first place boils down to, of course, marketing, but his personality has given Pittsburgh — a city with a justifiable chip on its shoulder after years of post-industrial economic distress and being the butt of jokes — a sort of hero. On another level, he represents a chaotic, Waluigi-type alternative to Eat’n Park’s forever-beaming Smiley Cookie, setting up what many locals see as a rivalry between the two area restaurant chains.
But Barbara Dunlay, a longtime employee of and current procurement manager for Kings, tells Pittsburgh City Paper that Smiley never came into the equation when creating Frownie. Dunlay, who says she worked in a marketing capacity when Kings created Frownie, recalls how the agency they hired “wanted to do something edgy and fun.”
Still, she admits that they never sought to dispel the belief that Frownie and Smiley were enemies.
“And because everyone assumed the rivalry, it made it more fun, but it was never admitted out loud that that was a rivalry,” she says. “It just created a fun thing for both Eat’n Park and Kings.”
Frownie provided a way for Kings to further connect with customers beyond serving them burgers and fries in homey, family-friendly settings — besides being another option on the menu, Frownie appears on apparel, mugs, and other merchandise. Dunlay recalls how “little kids loved Frownie” and yelled his name when he appeared at parades as a costumed mascot.
That love translated into calls for Frownie to return when the devious dessert disappeared in 2015 after Kings was sold to a San Diego-based private equity firm. Four years later, Kings announced Frownie’s comeback with a marketing campaign that included TV spots, billboards, and the hashtags #whereisfrownie and #frowniereturns.
Unlike his sunnier cookie counterpart, Frownie’s “edgy” appeal gave Kings the freedom to lean into popular culture, with irreverent ads and social media posts that read “Resting Brownie Face” or featured Frownie’s face Photoshopped onto actor Bradley Cooper in an image of his famed Oscar performance with Lady Gaga. One ad depicts Frownie introducing the mini “Frownie Jr.” brownies — which are part of Kings’ Angry Mob sundae — with the famous Scarface line “Say hello to my little friend.”
Kings also made plush versions of Frownie that became a hit with both kids and adults. The cuddly toy added another interactive element when Kings encouraged customers to snap selfies of Frownie on their travels during a “Where in the World Is Frownie?” contest. This resulted in photos of Frownie at numerous recognizable locations, including Alcatraz Island in San Franciso, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, and Gobblers Knob during Groundhog Day ceremonies in Punxsutawney, Pa.
Even as Frownie, with his white icing features and cakey body, has remained the same, Kings has banked on new approaches as a way to keep their few remaining restaurants in operation. Alisha Merico Binkoski, who does marketing for Kings, tells City Paper that the chain recently launched a food truck as a way to bring Frownie and other menu items to customers at various events.
“Kings has changed a lot, and our brand has shrunk,” she says, adding that the truck gives the chain more of a presence outside of the restaurant locations still open in Canonsburg, Kittanning, Greensburg, and Franklin. Merico Binkoski adds that Kings also launched a new menu on Aug. 12 and in September, the chain will bring back its Oktoberfest menu for a limited time.
While the future remains uncertain for Kings, Frownie appears formidable enough to weather any storm as a Pittsburgh icon whose tough exterior belies a sweet nature. His presence offers a bit of good-natured surliness in troubled times, a grimacing panacea for toxic positivity that tells people it's okay to be mad — just don’t be mean.
