Why Southwest chile growers want to build a better pepper

For the 10th anniversary of their family’s chile company, Reyna Lara wanted to do something special to honor their roots.

She found her answer in the family, more specifically in her father, whose face became the logo for their packages of dried chile peppers.

On it, Feliciano Lara sports a mustache, a bright white cowboy hat and a suit jacket, encircled by the words “Chiles Don Chano,” incorporating his nickname. Sometimes, Reyna says, as they cross between their home base in Texas and their farm back in Zacatecas, Mexico, border patrol agents recognize her dad from the labels.