Retired Farm Store Manager and Alumna’s New Chapter Blends Family Legacy and Business
Whenever family matriarch Esther “Nonna” Taccone served her famous meatballs, it was like tasting family history, tradition and devotion in one delicious bite.
Friends and family knew how much love she poured into seasoning the ground beef. Recently, her daughter-in-law Dawn Taccone (’06, hospitality management) has created a new seasoning mix in her memory, Nonna’s Best Meatball’s, which is now available at Cal Poly Pomona’s Farm Store and specialty markets Hadley Fruit Orchards in Cabazon and Gerrards in Redlands.
“She wasn’t really known for her cooking, but the one thing my mother-in-law cooked well were her meatballs,” Dawn Taccone said. “I wish she could see what I am doing now with the mix because she would really get a kick out of it.”
Taccone has always been in the food business, including working 16 years as the Farm Store’s manager, turning the small market into a campus and community gem. After she retired in 2024, she needed a new project to channel her boundless energy.
“If I was physically younger, I would have kept going,” she said. “The physical demands of the job got to be too much. When you cut me open, I bleed Farm Store, so retirement was a rough transition.”
Taccone credits her decision to sell the meatball mix for pulling her out of boredom and giving her focus.
Made with Love
Nonna started the tradition of serving meatballs during family gatherings. She never measured and could toss the ingredients for her mix in the bowl perfectly by just eyeing it.
To pass down the recipe through the generations, Taccone and her husband Dave measured the seasoning Nonna used. Meatballs were a staple at Mi Amores, an Italian restaurant in Lakewood once owned by Taccone’s sister, as well as Taccone’s catering business.
Despite the meatball’s popularity with customers and friends, the recipe is a closely held secret. People have offered to pay for the recipe, which is just for the family’s eyes only. Others have invited her over so they can learn how to make the meatball mix, only for Taccone to show up with a pre-made bag.
The interest from friends is what got Taccone to consider selling Nonna’s best, she said. One friend recommended she reach out to the Inland Empire Women’s Business Center in Colton, an agency that encourages and supports women entrepreneurs. She also credits former co-workers at CPP and other Farm Store contacts for supporting and mentoring her.
“It’s all about CPP and the family I created here,” she said. “The support has been fantastic, and I have been able to have something to show and say, ‘Hey, look, this is my baby.’”
Lisa Kessler, a nutrition and food science professor emerita in the Huntley College of Agriculture, recalled running into Taccone at the Farm Store after Taccone began selling the mix. Taccone shared the family story with Kessler and Kessler was sold on giving it a try.
“Her passion and enthusiasm were contagious, so I bought a few mixes, tried one and loved it,” Kessler said. “I have a family member with celiac disease, so I am very appreciative that there is a gluten-free version. I have made the meatballs for many family members, and everyone has enjoyed them.”
Finding Connection and Purpose
Kessler got to know Taccone when she became the Farm Store manager in 2008, partnering to ensure the store was serving the community in a cost-effective and healthy way, as well as providing PolyX learn-by-doing opportunities for student workers.
“I think Dawn displays our CPP qualities of entrepreneurship and dedication to excellence,” she said.
Barbara Jean Bruin, a hospitality management faculty emerita, has known Taccone since 2005 when Taccone was a student in her food and beverage operations class. When Bruin’s mother died and she had to go to New Orleans suddenly, Taccone, a student at the time, managed The Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch in Bruin’s absence.
“It was a godsend that she was a student manager that week because I didn’t have to worry about anything,” Bruin said. “Dawn was an older student, and she had restaurant experience. I will never forget how wonderful that was because in all the darkness of what I was going through, I didn’t have to worry because Dawn had it.”
Bruin formed a bond with Taccone that is still solid to this day.
When she made the meatball mix, she even documented each step, from forming them to baking them. She sent photos to Taccone, who coached her to add more sauce.
“It was the most fun afternoon of me making these meatballs,” Bruin said. “My old heart was so happy because it was Dawn. It was absolutely fantastic.”
Taccone said this labor of love honoring her mother-in-law has helped her get her zest for life back, grow as a person and continue her connection with the campus community.
“I enjoy people, so I enjoy going out to the stores,” she said. “Also, this has restored my purpose. If not for me retiring and getting bored, I would never have done this. I wanted to be my own boss, but it is challenging. You need to go into uncomfortable places because when you quit doing that, you quit growing.”