FARGO — After five years of serving up smiles to kids at Kone’s Kreamery, owner Brady Hand is hoping to have some children of his own. But in order to get there, he needs to sell the bustling gelato and boba tea shop at 1650 45th St. S.
Hand and his wife have spent the past four years grappling with infertility. After two unsuccessful rounds of in vitro fertilization, the couple plans to pursue embryo adoption, and the sale of the business would help fund the start of their family.
Vena and Kevin Pham opened Kone’s Kreamery in 2018, and Hand purchased it from them in 2019. Since then, he said, a loyal customer base has kept business booming.
“The business is doing well,” Hand told The Forum on Sunday.
Michael Vosburg / Forum file photo
He said he plans to find the right owner to take over the turnkey operation.
“We want to make sure that the shop continues to grow and expand,” he said. “It’s something that I’ve been putting my heart and soul into, and I want to continue to see it thrive. … However, you know, me and my wife, we are trying to start our family. It’s been a couple of years of us going through the process.”
Along their infertility journey, they learned about the option of embryo adoption from their doctor.
“We really took it as God’s sign of where we’re heading next,” Hand said.
To adopt an embryo, the Hands will work with an agency to connect with couples who have extra embryos frozen that they will not use. Those couples put the embryos up for adoption, and couples seeking to adopt can “match” with them, Hand said.
The process can cost anywhere from $7,500 to $19,500,
according to American Surrogacy.
After selling the business, Hand is hoping to return to where his career started — human resources with a specialty in payroll.
Until then, he’ll keep serving up smiles — sometimes literally with the shop’s signature scoops of gelato with animal faces on them.
Contributed / Brady Hand
“While it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to Kones Kreamery, we’re excited for this next chapter in our lives and for the future of the business under new ownership,” he said.
Those interested in purchasing the shop can contact hand at
or
Kaity Young is a news editor at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. She joined the company in 2018 and enjoys learning about her community and the region through editing news stories.
