6 Kroger Bakery and Deli Finds Tennessee Shoppers Swear By

Most shoppers know exactly where to find Kroger’s bakery and deli.

Knowing how to get the most out of them is another story.

These six finds make parties easier, orders faster, and a regular Tennessee grocery run a little more rewarding.

1. Print an Actual Photo

Kroger’s bakery catalog in Tennessee runs through dozens of licensed cartoon characters and team logos for a sheet cake.

That’s where most shoppers stop looking.

It’s not the only choice.

Order through Kroger’s online cake site instead of the in-store binder.

The ordering happens on a separate site, kroger.cakes.com, not the main Kroger app most shoppers already have installed.

You can upload an actual photo from your phone.

The bakery prints it straight onto the icing as an edible image.

A graduation photo, a dog in a birthday hat, or even a screenshot all print just as clean.

The bakery needs a lead time to print and place a photo cake, so order in advance.

This isn’t a same-day order, but it’s worth the wait.

2. Skip the 48-Hour Wait

A fully custom Kroger cake, built from scratch with your own colors and message, needs at least 48 hours of notice at most Tennessee stores.

Too late for today’s party.

The workaround sits in the case already baked.

Kroger stocks premade cakes in the bakery every day with no advance order required.

The staff can still add custom writing or a simple decoration to a premade cake on the spot.

A birthday name, a short message, or a different icing color on the border all count as decoration, not a custom order.

None of it touches the 48-hour rule.

It works for a forgotten office birthday just as well as a potluck someone remembered at the last minute.

A Nashville shopper who forgot a coworker’s party is happening today still walks out with a personalized cake.

Just not the fondant sculpture version.

3. Kroger’s Hidden Cheesemonger

Walk past the deli case at many Tennessee Kroger stores.

There’s a whole cheese shop tucked inside it that most shoppers roll right past.

Murray’s Cheese runs more than 1,000 shops inside Kroger stores across more than 30 states.

Kroger started bringing Murray’s into its stores back in 2008, long enough ago that the shop-in-shop model is old news to the company and still new to many shoppers.

The cheesemongers behind the counter complete the company’s own training program before they hand anyone a wedge.

Actual training.

Ask a cheesemonger for a recommendation.

They’ll cut a fresh piece to order, suggest a pairing, and tell you how to serve it, like letting a soft brie sit out before it reaches the table.

Most shoppers assume that kind of guided tasting only happens at a specialty shop downtown.

The counter bakes its own bries and builds cheese boards fresh in the store every day.

The case changes even when the rest of the aisle doesn’t.

4. Order the Tray Ahead

The Kroger deli in Tennessee builds party trays and made-to-order subs the same way it always has, with meat and cheese sliced fresh behind the counter while a line forms.

Skip the line entirely.

Placing that same order through the Kroger app or website locks in a pickup time instead of a spot in line.

Give it a little advance notice, and the tray or sub is waiting, boxed and labeled, when you walk in.

Show up, grab it, done.

Kroger builds the order fresh that morning or the day before, not days ahead in a walk-in cooler.

A cookout in Knoxville or a Sunday get-together after church runs smoother when the tray is already boxed and waiting under your name, instead of getting built while you stand there.

5. Discount Still Applies

Digital coupons at Kroger don’t stop working the moment a Tennessee shopper switches from walking the aisles to ordering pickup online.

The discount still applies at checkout either way.

Clip a coupon to the Shopper’s Card in the Kroger app, on deli meat, a box of Private Selection cupcakes, or a rotisserie side.

It attaches automatically to a pickup order at checkout.

No printing required.

Up to 150 coupons can sit clipped and ready at once, so stacking a handful onto one deli order takes barely any planning.

During a 5X digital coupon event, one clipped coupon can cover five items in a single trip.

Kroger brands its biggest version a HOT Weekend, its own term for a short, high-value coupon window when that same coupon works five times in one transaction instead of spreading across separate visits.

Miss the clip.

The savings never apply, no matter how good the shelf price looks.

6. Membership Beats the Fee

Kroger charges a fee on a smaller pickup or delivery order, the kind a deli platter or a dozen bakery rolls usually falls under.

A Boost membership erases it.

Boost Essential runs $69 a year and includes free next-day delivery on orders over $35.

Boost Premium runs $99 a year and upgrades that to free same-day delivery, plus double fuel points on every purchase.

Both waive the fee automatically at checkout once an order clears the $35 line.

No code, no extra tap.