Blue Bell’s Broken Arrow production plant will be running again soon.
The company announced about 70 percent of the plant’s 200 workers are back at work, with the rest expected to return next week.
"My favorite food is ice cream, so I'm excited about it, but I think a lot of people are really excited about the fact it is a big part of our community," said Broken Arrow Mayor Craig Thurmond. "They really are a big contributor toward things that go on in our community."
The plant should begin making ice cream this week, but stores in northeastern Oklahoma won’t see it on their shelves until the third phase of Blue Bell’s roll out. That started today.
Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce President Wes Smithwick said many of the workers in town didn’t leave the company, even though they easily could have.
"We had manufacturers — I can take you — within a half mile of here that have about 10 different positions that they're hiring, so most of those people who were skilled could have found jobs elsewhere," Smithwick said. "But the ones who chose to stick it out went back to Blue Bell, and I think that speaks volumes."
Smithwick said the town has had enough businesses leave lately because of low energy prices.
"You know, companies that manufacture equipment for the oil fields and stuff like that," Smithwick said. "We know how to deal with them to help them find employment, so if that had ever occurred, we would have certainly been in a position to assist, but we've not once ever thought there was a question of whether or not Blue Bell would be back here."
Two of Blue Bell’s three production facilities are back in operation now after extensive cleaning and renovations following listeria contamination and a voluntary recall. Only the Brenham, Texas, plant remains closed.