Photo by Blue Bell CreameriesBlue Bell Creameries has begun construction on its fifth Greater Houston area distribution center scheduled to open in July behind Wal-Mart near the intersection of Hwy. 249 and Spring Cypress Road in Tomball.
The estimated 2- to 3-acre distribution facility will be located at 22635 Hwy. 249, said Larry Gibbs, Blue Bell regional manager for the Greater Houston area and Arizona. The site will feature a 12,000-square-foot freezer storage area and loading docks, as well as 2,000 square feet of office space for employees, Gibbs said.
"It's always exciting for us [to open a new facility]," Gibbs said. "[With Houston] being our most mature market, we've got a lot of employees that have been with us a long time. When there's new growth in Houston, it provides an opportunity for some of them [to move up], and it's great."
Kevin Heineman, Blue Bell Humble branch manager, will take on his new role as manager of the Tomball distribution facility. Bringing 35 to 40 new jobs to the community, the new center will begin hiring employees shortly before opening but is accepting applications in advance at its Humble branch and Houston site near Karbach Brewing Co., Gibbs said.
The new center will distribute ice cream products to stores in the northwest corridor of Hwy. 290 in the Tomball, Magnolia, Spring and The Woodlands areas, Gibbs said. The company presently distributes products to stores in the corridor through its main Brenham site as well as its Humble and Houston branches, he said.
"Brenham is approximately 50 miles from [Tomball], so this [new center] will save us from having to come from that direction from Brenham," Gibbs said. [The center is] supplementing the routes. We knew we were reaching capacity at our other branches several years ago."
Gibbs said Blue Bell has been in discussions with Tomball officials for about 18 months to determine an ideal site for the new center.
"When you lay out a map of Houston, you see our existing branches, and [Tomball] fits with where supermarket growth has come," Gibbs said. "The Woodlands and that northwest corridor out along Hwy. 290—all that has grown so much. [The new center] gets us closer to the customers by putting it there. It's a very desirable place for employees to work and live."
Unlike the company's main plant in Brenham, the new center will not be open to the public for ice cream tastings or tours, Gibbs said. However, Gibbs said the company will likely hold a public open house event for the grand opening of the new facility in mid-summer.
Blue Bell Creameries operates about 60 other distribution centers in 23 states across the country.
