The First Texas Counties Getting Blue Bell Ice Cream Will Be…

We have a date!

Monday, August 31st Blue Bell Ice Cream will be returning to stores (leave it to Blue Bell to brighten up a Monday).  However, Lufkin, Nacogdoches, and most of East Texas will have to wait. 

According to a press release:

Blue Bell has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and state health officials in Alabama and Texas of its plan to re-enter select markets on a limited basis.

The Blue Bell production facility in Sylacauga, Alabama, began producing ice cream in late July. Additional production facilities in Brenham, Texas, and Broken Arrow, Okla., are still undergoing facility and production process upgrades similar to those made at the Alabama plant.

Due to the limited production capacity while producing in one facility, Blue Bell will re-enter parts of 15 states in five phases. The first of the five phases will be similar to how Blue Bell began and include the Brenham, Houston and Austin, Texas, areas, as well as parts of Alabama, (Birmingham and Montgomery) where the product is being made.  The next phases include:

• Phase Two:  North central Texas and southern Oklahoma
• Phase Three:  Southwest Texas and central Oklahoma
• Phase Four:  The majority of Texas and southern Louisiana.
• Phase Five:  Complete  the states of Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas and begin distribution in Arkansas, Florida, northern Louisiana and Mississippi. This phase will also include only parts of the following states:  Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Blue Bell will move on to each phase based on product availability and when it can properly service the customers in an area. With the exception of phase one, no other dates have been determined for when each expansion will take place.

 

 

So, which counties are officially in the Phase One Rollout?  Unfortunately, none of the Deep East Texas counties.  It looks like you'll need to travel to the Huntsville area to be one of the first in line.  So, which phase rollout will we be in?  I hope I'm wrong, but it looks like maybe phase four.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for phase two, though.

Regardless, it'll be great to have Blue Bell Ice Cream back in stores.