NoCo Kitchen and Catering Serves Up BBQ in Tappan

Rockland County native Joe Agnello has a passion for food. What began as him being the head chef of his buddies tailgate sessions has since manifested in a surprisingly spacious brick and mortar storefront in Tappan, New York. 

Growing up, Agnello moved around frequently due to his father’s general contracting job. However, no matter where they lived Rockland County always felt like home to Agnello. He joined the family contracting business himself when he came of age, but during the last recession in 2009 Agnello made the decision to forge his own path. He struck out on his own, sharing that he was resolved to “do something that I love, and I love making people happy”. According to Angello, happiness looks like making people happy by  serving up delicious meals, sharing that “…There’s not much better to me than feeding someone something that I made and just seeing an unbelievable expression on their face”. Soon after his decision, Angello took the leap into the food business. As he looked around Rockland, he found plenty of Italian restaurants and catering but uncovered a surprising lack of go-to spots for Rocklanders to get their BBQ fix. Inspired by his tailgating days at Yankees games, Agnello got to work. He started small, purchasing an electric smoker and setting up in his parent’s backyard. Agnello credits his family and his heritage as being one of his biggest inspirations to open NoCo Kitchen and Catering. He recalled his grandmother, his mother and his uncle, and the heart that he feels lies at the center of Italian cooking. “My grandmother always told me ‘If you cook with love, you get love back’. And that’s something I never lost sight of”.

NoCo’s menu provides a truly mouth-watering list of BBQ classics, along with weekly Agnello specials. “Your food reflects your personality, and I like to have fun”, says Agnello. His menu certainly reflects his fun-filled personality and is filled with items bearing names such as “The Mother Clucker”, a “Knuckle Sandwich”, “Fuggedaboutit Fries” and “The Hogfather” to name a few. Agnello’s favorite item to prepare is the one that took the longest to perfect – the brisket. After years of tinkering Agnello shares that   “…we’ve got it down to a system that comes out perfect every time.” It’s certainly a long way from those small backyard smoker days.

NoCo looks forward to hosting more events as the school year kicks off and the holiday season begins to get underway. Agnello recalls their 90s/2000s themed trivia brunch from earlier in 2024 and how he wants to implement more of these community events in his second year. 

With operating hours Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m, BBQ aficionados have plenty of opportunity to swing by. NoCo offers Happy Hours from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. during the week and 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Saturday with 10% off the entire menu. Say hi to local Rockland chef Joe Agnello and allow him to make you a sandwich you can’t refuse.