For me, Brenham, Texas, has always meant one thing: Blue Bell ice cream.
I’ve visited the Blue Bell Creamery numerous times over the years, drawn by my lifelong love of ice cream and memories of making homemade ice cream growing up on a farm. I never tire of touring the creamery, watching the process, and sampling flavors I don’t find in the grocery store. Blue Bell is simply the best ice cream. Period.
But on my last visit, I discovered that Blue Bell wasn’t the only reason to stop in Brenham. A short distance away I found two more Texas traditions—Truth BBQ and Weikel’s Bakery.
I came for Blue Bell. I stayed for the kolaches and BBQ.
Blue Bell: Why I keep coming back
Some loves begin in childhood
My love of ice cream goes back to growing up on a farm where homemade ice cream was part of summer. We churned it ourselves, turning a few simple ingredients into something the whole family looked forward to.
That may explain why I’ve always had a special fondness for Blue Bell.
I’ve toured the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham numerous times over the years and never tire of it. I enjoy seeing how the ice cream is made, but the real treat is sampling flavors that aren’t readily available in grocery stores.
For me, a visit to Brenham isn’t complete without a stop at the creamery. It’s a chance to enjoy my favorite ice cream, revisit a childhood tradition, and indulge in something I never seem to outgrow.
Blue Bell is the reason I keep coming back to Brenham.
From local creamery to Blue Bell
How a small Brenham creamery became a 24-state brand
The story of Blue Bell began in 1907 when the Brenham Creamery Company opened in Brenham. The small creamery made butter from excess cream supplied by local farmers.
Ice cream was added in 1911. In 1930, the company adopted the Blue Bell name, inspired by the Texas bluebell wildflower.
For decades, Blue Bell remained a regional operation, gradually expanding beyond Brenham and eventually beyond Texas. What began as a small creamery serving local farmers became one of the country’s best-known ice cream brands.
Today, Blue Bell products are sold in 24 states across the South, West, and Midwest. Its reach extends as far north as Ohio and west to Nevada, yet the company remains headquartered in Brenham where the story began more than a century ago.
That’s quite a journey for a company that started by making butter from local farmers’ cream.
And that’s part of what makes visiting the Brenham creamery special to me. I’m not simply visiting a factory where ice cream is made. I’m visiting the place where a small Texas creamery grew into the Blue Bell I have known and enjoyed for decades.
Blue Bell is what keeps bringing me back to Brenham.
Truth BBQ: Lunch before dessert
Sometimes the best discoveries begin with a list
Every four years, Texas Monthly publishes its much-anticipated list of the Top 50 barbecue joints in Texas. I always look forward to it. One year, I noticed Truth BBQ in Brenham among the Top 10.
That got my attention.
I already knew my next trip to Brenham would include Blue Bell, so I decided Truth BBQ would be the first stop. Blue Bell would be dessert.
Truth BBQ has a different look from some of the old-fashioned Texas barbecue joints but the proof is on the plate. The smell of smoke hits you before you get very far and the sight of the meat coming off the pit makes it clear this isn’t just another restaurant serving barbecue.
The brisket had the smoky flavor and peppery bark I look for in Central Texas barbecue with tender meat underneath. The ribs were moist and flavorful and there was enough variety on the menu to make choosing difficult.
The sides were no afterthought either. Bacon-topped mac and cheese, collard greens, corn pudding, and slaw gave us plenty to sample. Truth managed to take the traditional Texas barbecue experience and add its own personality without losing sight of what makes Central Texas barbecue so good.
That was what impressed me most. Truth may not look like an old roadside barbecue joint but it understands that great barbecue begins with the meat and the smoke.
I came because Texas Monthly had put Truth among the state’s best. After eating there, I understood why.
And there was still dessert waiting at Blue Bell.
Weikel’s: A kolache bonus
Sometimes the best stops aren’t planned
On the way to Truth BBQ, we drove right past Weikel’s Bakery. On the way back, after lunch, we stopped.
Weikel’s was already familiar to me. I often camp in the Columbus area and frequently visit nearby La Grange, a delightful town with a beautiful courthouse and town square. La Grange also has a strong Czech connection and during one of those visits I discovered Weikel’s.
I’ve returned several times since. Eventually I learned that Weikel’s had opened a second bakery in Brenham—yet another reason to visit a town I already knew well.
Kolaches are a delicious reminder of the Czech influence on Central Texas. Czech immigrants brought the tradition to Texas and over generations the kolache became as much a part of Texas as barbecue and bluebonnets.
Weikel’s does them exceptionally well.
After barbecue at Truth, we weren’t looking for another meal. We stopped for kolaches to take with us and the display of freshly baked pastries made choosing difficult.
I had come to Brenham for Blue Bell, discovered Truth BBQ through Texas Monthly, and ended up leaving with kolaches from a bakery I had first discovered in another Texas town.
Sometimes you don’t have to look very hard for another reason to come back.
Brenham had given me one more.
More than Blue Bell
Sometimes returning to a familiar place reveals something new
Blue Bell is still the reason I return to Brenham. After all these years, I have no intention of giving up my visits to the creamery, my tours, or my search for another flavor I haven’t tried.
But my last visit reminded me that there is more to a familiar place than the reason that first brought me there.
Truth BBQ was an unexpected discovery sparked by a Texas Monthly list. Weikel’s was another, connected to my earlier visits to La Grange and my interest in the Czech heritage of Central Texas.
Neither was the reason I went to Brenham. Both became part of the experience.
That’s one of the pleasures of returning to places you’ve visited before. You already know what brought you there but you may not yet know what you’ll discover.
For me, Brenham will always be Blue Bell country.
But now I know to leave room for a little barbecue and a few kolaches.
I came to Brenham for Blue Bell. I stayed for the kolaches and BBQ.
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Editor’s note
This article was originally published in August 2026. Information reflects what was accurate at the time of writing. Conditions, access, and amenities may change over time, so please verify current details before planning your trip.
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