Tabasco To Open New Avery Island Visitors Center This Fall

In honor of nearly 150 years on Avery Island, McIlhenny Company, the maker of Tabasco® brand Pepper Sauce, has launched the expansion of its current visitors center. Visitors to Avery Island will experience a behind-the-scenes look into how McIlhenny Company and its surrounding region are intertwined when new center opens in late fall 2015 and the center's restaurant opens in late July, 2015.

The centerpiece of the renovated center is a museum featuring rare family artifacts and video installations that chronicle the origins and generations of the McIlhenny family and the brand's heritage, dating back to the 1800's. Avery Island's history will also be highlighted, as well as the McIlhenny COmpany's stewardship of the Island and surrounding environment.

Vistors will also be able to experience firsthand the company's production process from seed to plate for the first time. Newly - expanded tours include the greenhouse, mash warehouse and processing, guiding visitors from the planting of tabasco peppers to the aging of pepper mash in oak barrels for up to three years, and finally the processing and bottling of Tabasco Sauce.

Visitors will also enjoy authentic Cajun cuisine in a new cafeteria - style restaurant, offering regional Louisiana favorites including crawfish étouffée, red beans and rice, crawfish corn maque choux, and boudin.
The expansion is expected to be completed by late fall . Current factory and Jungle Garden tours on Avery Island will continue to be offered as construction continues. Click here for more information about visiting the home of Tabasco Sauce on Avery Island.