Serving up smiles: Whitehall Eat’n Park employee celebrates 50 years and counting
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Carol Kusan was working as a server at a bar/restaurant.
She explained that if her infant son was sick, she would need to call off.
Her boss told Kusan she was required to be there Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for her shifts.
“I left, and applied for a job at Eat’n Park,” Kusan said. “I told them the same thing about my son, and they welcomed me.”
That was 50 years ago — and every one of those working years was spent at the same restaurant, the Whitehall Eat’n Park location on Clairton Boulevard.
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Company CEO Jeff Broadhurst and COO Mercy Senchur surprised Kusan and presented her with a mini-refrigerator for her newly renovated basement on her work anniversary, Feb. 8.
Eat’n Park mascot Smiley also made an appearance.
“When I saw Smiley walk in, I figured out what they were doing,” said Kusan, 77. “They kept everything so secret. I started to cry. It was a nice moment and an honor. It’s a milestone.”
It definitely is.
“Our team members are the heart and soul of Eat’n Park, and we are so grateful that Carol has been serving smiles at our Whitehall restaurant for 50 years!” said Anna Oliver, manager of the Whitehall Eat’n Park, via email. “She is a caring and compassionate friend to her fellow team members and our guests, and it was an honor to celebrate her accomplishments.”
Kusan has pretty much done every job at the Pittsburgh-based restaurant chain known as “The Place for Smiles.”
Most of her career has been as a server. She trained several members of the staff when she was a supervisor, some who have also worked for the company for decades.
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One of her favorite menu items is the original superburger, a double-decker third-pound of beef, melted cheese, pickle slices, shredded lettuce and the restaurant’s “sauce supreme.”
She said she enjoys handing the signature iced Smiley cookies to children – and adults, too.
Kusan’s biggest piece of advice is to be like the late Fred Rogers, of WQED’s “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
“Be kind to the people waiting on you,” she said. “Be friendly and be patient.”
Kusan was patient while being off for six months during the pandemic. When she returned, seeing her co-workers and regular customers put a smile on her face, she said.
“I was excited to see everyone, and they were excited to see me,” she said. “It felt great to be back. Eat’n Park is a family company. Everyone who works here treats each other and our customers like family.”
Her “work” family embraced her when she lost her husband, Larry Kusan Jr., 10 years ago. They were there as she navigated treatment for breast cancer. They kept in touch with her during the pandemic.
Kusan said she misses the regular customers who have passed away. Many had become friends.
“I try to make people happy and bring them the food they order,” said Kusan, who works two days a week. “The entire crew here is wonderful. When I see the regulars, I pour their drink, and sometimes put their check in, because I know what they order because it’s the same every time.”
She said people know and respect Eat’n Park because it’s an eatery where diners get good food for the money.
It’s also a place for the entire family to dine because there are menu choices for everyone.
Kusan started working the dinner shift and moved her schedule to midnight. Her husband was with the children at night and she would be there with them all day.
Her son Larry Kusan III, 51; daughter Andrea Fedak, 45; and daughter-in-law Corine worked at the restaurant. When she’s not working, Kusan said, she enjoys spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren, Melody, 19, and Larry IV, 18.
Kusan organizes charity events to raise money for Eat’n Park’s Caring for Kids Campaign.
“When it comes to helping a fellow team member in need, friends say she’s one of the first people to ask about taking up a collection to help and would do anything for them,” according to a blog post by Eat’n Park.
“I don’t really think about how long I have been here,” Kusan said. “But I made it 50 years, and I am still going. I like the way I am treated.”
Kusan began working to earn extra money for the family, she said. For most of her life, she lived in Baldwin Borough before moving to Monongahela with her daughter.
She could have worked at a closer restaurant.
“Whitehall is my restaurant,” she said.
Yes, it definitely is, Carol.