Advertisement

Food

These gnome snowcones might be the cutest sweet treats in D-FW

Update on Nov. 6: The stand has closed for the season, but will be back in 2018.

Original story: Have you ever looked at a gnome's hat and thought, "That looks delicious?"

Well, if you're willing to make a trek for a treat, you might want to head for snow cone spot Gnome Cones in Argyle. The stand, the brainchild of Alex Sparks and Bret Hawkins, sells snow cones with cups with gnome faces on them and the top of the treat serving as the gnome's hat.

Advertisement
Eat Drink D-FW

The latest food and drink reviews, recipes and info on the D-FW food scene.

Or with:

Sparks and a roommate used to hide gnomes around campus for fun when they were in college and started joking around about the idea of gnome-shaped desserts.

"As we discussed the idea more and more, we thought the idea could really work if we positioned the brand as a natural alternative to typical snow cones, which are usually a not-so-great mixture of preservatives, corn syrup, dyes and chunky ice," Hawkins says via email. "Then, in the spring of 2016, I was in my final semester of the communication design program at UNT and decided to use the concept for my final senior branding project. I designed the logo, cups, merchandise and other collateral for the brand, which we then used to pitch the idea to a local restaurateur, Sparky Pearson."

Advertisement
Gnome Cones is a snow cone stand with a gnome-centric premise.
Gnome Cones is a snow cone stand with a gnome-centric premise.(Kelly Sparks)

The snow cone stand, which is open only Fridays through Sundays, has been up and running since May.

"The best part of the job has definitely been coming up with an absurd amount of gnome-related inside jokes that are on repeat throughout the work day." Hawkins says.

Advertisement

Speaking of jokes, the stand has a promotional video that involves a gnome following a young man around and a mysterious film featuring a singing gnome. The production company Maker Table is behind the work.

"We pretty much gave them 100 percent creative control, the only direction being to make it as weird as possible," Hawkins says.

The result blends the influences of Stranger Things, comedy duo Tim and Eric, and some gnome poetry that Hawkins penned. Mission accomplished.