No Surprise That Publix Does The Sweetest Thing Ever For Children Turning 1

There are countless reasons why our readers have voted Publix the South’s Best Grocery Store in the past: From chicken tender subs to fresh, cut-to-order produce, it really is the place where shopping is a pleasure. It’s no secret that our editors are big fans of the chain either, with an especially deep love for the bakery, with its zingy Key lime pie, perfect pizza dough, and nostalgic sprinkle cookies.

So when my fiancé, Richmond, and I used our dog’s first birthday as a ridiculous, but fun excuse to host friends and enjoy the spring weather, I realized it was also the perfect opportunity to order a Publix sheet cake for our human friends. And that’s how I unintentionally learned that Publix does the sweetest thing for children turning 1. 

Ordering A Birthday Cake At Publix

You have to give the bakery 24-hour advance notice for design-your-own sheet cakes, so the day before the party, I ordered a quarter-sheet cake online. The customer experience was great in itself. Through their user-friendly form, you can customize everything from the type of cake to the piping style of the icing and the decorations on top. Cake flavors include vanilla, chocolate, marble, carrot, and more. You can pick the pattern of the trim as well as the border.

When it came time to dictate the cake message, I typed “Happy 1st Birthday, Missy!” I didn’t specify that it was for a dog’s birthday party, as I didn’t consider that relevant information ... until the next day, when Richmond came home from the store with two cakes: the quarter-sheet cake I’d ordered and a smaller cake decorated to match its larger counterpart, with a big, festive “1st” at the center. 

The Publix Smash Cake

A bit confused, I asked him if he’d ordered a second cake. He had not. And that’s when it dawned on me: The kind folks at Publix had thoughtfully gifted us a smaller smash cake—a treat they undoubtedly thought would be enjoyed by a human baby turning 1. 

After sharing a laugh via Instagram message with the Publix team (yet another reason to love the place!), I got the full scoop: If you order a quarter-sheet cake, which starts at $25.99 and feeds 15-20 people, or larger, complete with first-birthday messaging, the Publix bakery will throw in a coordinating 7-inch single-layer smash cake for free. 

Supposedly a free birthday smash cake is a thing at several grocery store chains, like Winn-Dixie and Walmart—who knew?!

Our pup only got to enjoy a tiny taste of the icing on her little smash cake, but in the future, when it comes time to celebrate human babies’ first birthdays, I know exactly where I’ll be buying their cakes.