Due to an increasing demand for Blue Bell ice cream and frozen snacks in Arizona, the Brenham, Texas-based ice cream manufacturer is opening a new 14,000-square-foot distribution and sales facility in Tucson, Ariz., effective Oct. 1. The new distribution facility, which will have 24 employees, will service the entire southern part of Arizona, from Yuma to Willcox and from Casa Grande to Nogales.

“The response to Blue Bell ice cream in Arizona has been phenomenal,” says Joe Granson, branch manager of the new facility. “Our initial intent was to build a smaller facility in Tucson, but then we saw that with the amazing growth in the area, Tucson really needed a full-service branch. We expect to keep growing from here.”

Granson has been with Blue Bell since 1981. He worked as a territory manager in Beaumont, Texas, before transferring to Arizona to oversee Tucson operations in 2005.

The Tucson distribution center will deliver the complete line of Blue Bell, which includes ice cream, light ice cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt, no sugar added and frozen snacks in a 250-product lineup, to local stores.