Blue Bell ice cream hits market shelves in Las Vegas

Ice cream fans should get their spoons out because Blue Bell Creameries is returning to the Las Vegas area.

Trucks began rolling out the first shipments to local grocery stores early Monday morning. The Brenham, Texas-based brand previously operated in Las Vegas from 2014 to 2015, but left the area due to a recall, Executive Director of Marketing Joe Robertson said.

The company spent the last several years rebuilding its resources in the valley, including a land purchase in Henderson to build a 15,000-square-foot distribution center, now at 51 Conestoga Way.

“From start to finish, we buy the freshest ingredients,” Robertson said. “From the moment we buy raw ingredients until the product hits the shelf, no one touches the product except for Blue Bell employees. We take that extra care and we know that ice cream is very sensitive to heat, so we know that affects taste.”

All Blue Bell products — about 40 flavors of ice cream — are made at three manufacturing facilities in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.

Its Henderson facility is a distribution center with cold space storage, warehouse space and office space, Robertson said. About 25 to 30 people were hired, mostly full-time positions, to run sales and shipping operations.

Blue Bell will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for its Henderson facility at 10 a.m. Wednesday, and it’s open to the public. Tours of the facility, including free ice cream samples, will be available between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., the company said.

Blue Bell half-gallons, pints and frozen snacks are available in 23 states including Nevada. Cities receiving Blue Bell include Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, Henderson, Mesquite and Pahrump.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.