Blue Bell Creameries & Country Store — Restaurant in Brenham

4 stars for the Visitor Center and 5 stars for the Observation Deck and General Store (so 5, it is)! Not obvious from Google Maps, but two different locations with three stops, here. Please, note, this is essentially a free stop and is not long and involved like many other factory tours or product museums. Total stop of 60-90 minutes.

The Visitor Center (left entrance as you look at the buildings) tells the story of Brenham Creamery Company (est. 1907) and E.F. Kruse, who took over the company and-with his sons-grew it into the Blue Bell Creameries that so many crave around the world today! The visitor center is small and mostly informational posters with a handful of company antiques (e.g., a buggy, a car, time card clock, and a freezer). We read almost every single word and took time for family photos, but we only spent about 20 minutes there. The adjacent Observation Deck and General Store are the real attractions, but it's easier to appreciate the company if you take the time to read up on it first. If you choose to do that online, just stop here for a few quick scrapbook photos.

The real attraction for us was the entrance on the right side where you find the Observation Deck and General Store on the second floor (with an elevator). Watch some of the factory floor mixing, filling, and packaging process as the employees and machines work in harmony to prepare the creamy goodness for all to enjoy. We happened to be there the day they were packaging half-gallons of Cookies 'n' Cream and cups of Birthday Cake. I think we spent longer watching everything going on there, then we did in the visitor center. But as most people seem to appreciate in their reviews, the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow happens to cost $1 a scoop... and with about a dozen flavors to try, there is probably something for everyone (even sherbet, if lactose isn't your thing). Perfectly reasonable price for a little scoop of heaven. Oh, yeah, the store also has other souvenirs and bric-a-brac reflective of the ice cream brand and Central Texas, but I let my wife do most of the looking around there while I finished off the ice...

Without a doubt, a fun stop for kids and if you want to sample $1 ice cream. There's a visitor center that has interesting information although perhaps not displayed in a way that is very accessible to children. It feels like a missed opportunity to not offer more hands-on exhibits here rather than movies with nowhere to sit, old photos above a kid's line of sight, and a bunch of "DO NOT TOUCH" signage on things like an old school ice cream churner that would be such a fun thing for kids to touch and learn.

In the next building, up the stairs, is the ice cream parlor and mezzanine from where you can watch ice cream mix ins being added and containers being packed. It's not the easiest for children to see, and not much explanation provided unless you ask one of the attendants, but interesting nonetheless. No photos or video are allowed in this area.

The main attraction was the ice cream, although maybe I was expecting too much in terms of flavors. I read that you could sample flavors not sold in stores, so I was expecting some crazy off-the-wall flavors not...black cherry.

Fun place, but could be presented better. It seems like a lot of tour buses stop here so maybe their experience is different. If you're driving on your own, it's a pretty quick stop with not a whole lot to do beyond eating ice cream. Still, our little kids loved it and if we would go back if in...

The ice cream was great. I loved the gift shop. What I did not like was the MAJOR attitudes from the teenagers serving the ice creams. NONE of them had ANY welcoming warmth and NONE smiled. I was so excited to get there bc I've ALWAYS loved Blue Bell and was excited to try different ice creams I haven't had before but they greatly took away from our experience. My daughter was very upset bc she could hear the teenagers talking about me. They were staring at us and pointing! I believe they were upset bc they had to go to the back to get my ice cream due to a severe peanut and chocolate allergy i have. I would NOT come back here again and am rethinking if I'd even buy Blue Bell ice cream again since they have snobby teenagers representing their brand and for how they treated us. My daughter talked to a manager who honestly didn't even seem like he cared. He just said "I'll figure out who was working tomorrow and talk to them." Yeah ok. I believe you. The observation deck closes at 2pm so we did not get to see that. I spent a lot of money here that now I wish I hadn't. Oh, and I was charged a key chain that I told them to take...