Who doesn’t love a scoop of chilly ice cream on a hot summer day? For more than a century, Blue Bell Creameries has been creating and serving the tastiest of frozen delights out of the little creamery just down the road in Brenham.
On a hot summer day in 1907, local Brenham farmers established the Brenham Creamery Company and began making butter from excess cream brought in by other area farmers. Less than a decade later, the creamery began delivering ice cream to neighbors by horse-drawn wagon. It wasn’t until 1930 that the company changed its name to Blue Bell Creameries.
Though Blue Bell is only available to 26 percent of the nation’s supermarkets, it ranks impressively in the top three best-selling ice creams. Products are sold in 20 states, and no matter how large the market becomes, Blue Bell stays true to the original high-quality standards of those original Brenham farmers.
For all customers of Blue Bell, both loyal and new, the creamery in Brenham offers an interesting, interactive tour that lasts about 40 minutes. Visitors are taken on a path through the creamery and are given a wonderful opportunity to watch as Blue Bell employees create the ice cream so many people in the
nation enjoy.
Because of the growth in the number of folks who want the inside scoop on how Blue Bell is made, the creamery has expanded the Country Store and Ice Cream Parlor and is planning updates for the tour itself and a new Visitor’s Center.
“We do tours here for visitors who come to see how ice cream is made, and the number of people coming to visit has increased much over the years,” says Blue Bell’s Public Relations Manager Bill Weiss. “Last year, we
had almost 175,000 visitors. To make sure we continue providing a quality experience, we are doing some renovations to our facility so that each visitor is comfortable and happy.”
The renovation is being done in phases. The completed Phase 1 includes the new Ice Cream Parlor and Country Store on the second floor of the production facility. “We don’t want to get in anyone’s way while they
are on the tour, which is why a step by step approach to this renovation is so important,” says Weiss.
Phase two will include modifications to the tour route, though that phase is being planned around the expected large summer crowds. The third and final phase should begin sometime this fall and will convert the
former ice cream parlor and country store building into a visitor’s center. The center will feature displays and exhibits about the history of Blue Bell and some of its unique advertising ventures over the years.
“We really appreciate the Blue Bell consumers who come down to see us and see what we do,” says Weiss. “That is why this renovation is so important to us.”
During the busy summer months visitors are accommodated on a first-come, first-serve basis, and parking at the facilities is limited. Directions to the creamery; tour reservations and ticket purchases are available online at www.BlueBell.com.
General admission is $5. Senior Citizens (55+) and children ages 6-14 are $3 each. School groups are free from September through February; and $1 per person from March 1 through May 31. Groups of 15 or more must have reservations from September through May, and no group reservations are made from June through August. Tours include a generous scoop of complimentary ice cream.
Tours are on weekdays at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m. 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Check the website for special holiday hours.
