Blue Bell Creamery

from Bham Family - July 2022

by JBMC Media

fun

Blue Bell has a factory and creamery just south of Birmingham in Sylacauga.

SCOOPS OF FUN IN SYLACAUGA

Take a short road trip to the Blue Bell Creamery for tours and tastings.

BY STEPHANIE GIBSON LEPORE

This month is National Ice Cream Month, and you have the Bluegrass Sate to thank for this delicious designation! In 1984, Senator Walter Dee Huddleston (KY) introduced a resolution proclaiming July 1984 National Ice Cream Month and the 15th National Ice Cream Day. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law the same year. The bill only specified July 1984 as National Ice Cream Month, but the tradition stuck.

Lucky for us, Blue Bell has a factory and creamery just south of Birmingham in Sylacauga. Located about 45 minutes east on Highway 280, the Blue Bell

CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

Creamery is one of only a couple production facilities outside of the Brenham, Texas, location, where the ice cream brand—formerly Brenham Creamery Company—was founded.

Blue Bell’s growth beyond Texas was slow and steady; the product wasn’t available outside the state until the 1980s and is still available in just 23 states; however, it’s one of the best-selling ice creams in the country. The company attributes that to its strict quality standards.

Today, Blue Bell produces ice cream, light ice cream, no sugar added ice cream, sherbet, and other frozen snacks. To ensure fresh products, the company offers a direct store delivery program, which means no one except a Blue Bell employee handles the ice cream from the time it’s made until it arrives at the grocery store.

So, if the summer heat has your kids screaming for ice cream, load them up and celebrate with samples and $1 generous scoops at the parlor. The Blue Bell Creamery is open weekdays only, and flavors include customer favorites as well as some available only at the parlor. (Even with all of its unique blends, vanilla remains Blue Bell’s top-selling flavor since it was introduced in 1969!) Tours must be scheduled by calling ahead, but make time to do so. You’ll get to watch the packing process as half-gallon, pint, quart, and cup containers are filled with the creamy churned treat. (No pictures allowed!)

A bit of tour trivia: Watch out for the carton lids from the observation deck. Gold means the flavor is simple with fewer ingredients, like Dutch Chocolate. Brown lids go on compound flavors like Chocolate Peanut Butter Overload.

Blue Bell’s company slogan is, “We eat all we can and sell the rest.” Take a trip to Sylacauga and help them out!

GET THE SCOOP!

Blue Bell Creamery

423 N Norton Avenue Sylacauga, Alabama 35150 (256) 249-6100 Country Store and Ice Cream Parlor open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tours available by appointment. Closed on July 4th.