Pinal Today

Maricopa resident Sean Mannello is committed to making sure his friend Lenny’s dream lives on.

Lenny was recently diagnosed with stage-four brain cancer, and Mannello vowed to keep the Papa’s Pepper gourmet spice blend business, which Lenny created and founded, flourishing.

"He wanted to make something that was hotter, and he stumbled into this blend that everyone started to fall in love with," Mannello said to Fox 10 Phoenix. "His friends started to enjoy it, and that’s why they called it 'Papa's Pepper,' because he's Papa, and his grandkids used to say, 'Papa brought his pepper where he went.'"

After deciding he wanted to keep his friend’s legacy alive, Mannello came face to face with the hard part.  

"I said to him, 'What would you think about sending the recipe to us, couple of us in our family?'" Manello recalled. “He said, 'Would you be interested in that?' I said, 'Yeah, I’ll definitely be interested in it.' He said, 'How about I send you the blend, the place where you get bottles, and send the website over to you?'"

After becoming owner of the business, Mannello pledged to always give 25% of the profits to Lenny’s wife and to make donations to Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, where Lenny is being treated.

"I just turned 50," Manello said to Fox 10 Phoenix. "It’s time to give back."

Mannello said he wants to see the Papa’s Pepper business open and thriving forever.

"It’s a lot of work, and I don’t think anyone would do it for the money," he said. "I think it will be a lucrative endeavor in the future, but in the front end, it’s not a fun endeavor, but it means so much to me. Nothing in the world will stop me from making Papa’s Pepper successful."