Blue Bell ice cream, beloved by astronauts and Texans, to hit Las Vegas freezers

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A serving of vanilla Blue Bell ice cream is shown.

A Texas ice cream popular with astronauts and the Bush presidents is making its way to Las Vegas freezers.

Blue Bell Ice Cream, with roots in the early 1900s, plans to open a distribution center near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 3, the company said today.

The 12,000-square-foot facility at 6957 Speedway Blvd. will serve customers in the valley, Mesquite and Pahrump. The treat will be sold at Albertsons, Food 4 Less, Walgreens, Wal-Mart and other retailers.

According to the company, astronauts have taken Blue Bell into space “on several occasions.” Moreover, George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush had Blue Bell shipped from Texas to both the White House and the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Blue Bell was founded in 1907 in Brenham, Texas, as the Brenham Creamery Co., a butter producer. It added ice cream in 1911.

In 1958, the company ditched butter to focus full time on ice cream.

Blue Bell products — ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet and other treats — are now sold in 23 states.

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