ATLANTA (CNN) - The McIlhenny Company -- makers of the fiery Louisiana staple Tabasco Pepper Sauce -- survived Hurricane Rita and will be back in operation soon, a statement on the company's Web site said.

Employees from the manufacturing site on Avery Island, 50 miles southwest of Baton Rouge on the Gulf Coast, were evacuated ahead of the storm, the site said.

Rita came ashore Sept. 24 near the Texas-Louisiana state line, 120 miles from Avery Island, which is actually a small hill of ancient salt deposits formed on the shores of a prehistoric sea in the wetlands of southern Louisiana.

The storm halted online sales of all Tabasco products at www.tabasco.com, but the site said it will return to full service as soon as possible.

Edmund McIlhenny began making his own special pepper sauce in 1868. His direct descendants still own and operate the company, according to the Web site.

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