A good bakery/deli can add to the one-stop shopping experience that many shoppers are seeking. This story was first published by AL.com.Freshly baked breads, pastries and prepared deli meals of the highest quality are two important categories that help bring customers back to the store, time and time again. And The Goat is already preparing an expansion to provide more prep space for the “constant chopping” that goes into making the fresh foods they offer.Īs James fills containers for a customer, he offers his philosophy: “Take your time,” he advises. Recently, the deli started closing on Mondays but offering “grab and go” items for customers to pick up.
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In addition to the fresh food available in the deli – James’s Greek-style shrimp scampi and ravioli to go, as well as gyro and muffuletta sandwiches, plus an assortment of olives and cheeses – The Goat offers its own blend of coffee and an assortment of internationally sourced items on the shelves. “What you’re getting here is extremely authentic stuff. “All the deli stuff is Dad’s recipes from the mountains of Lebanon,” Hanan says. He’s also “the GOAT,” in his family’s eyes: an acronym that means the Greatest of All Time. “He’s international the food is international.” So to name the new deli, “We immediately thought, ‘Goat,’” Hanan says. Her grandfather would respond, “Baaaa,” like a goat. Her pronunciation of the word actually means “little goat,” which tickled her. Hanan and Howard’s daughter Julia, who is almost six, had difficulty pronouncing “jidi,” the Arabic word for “grandfather,” when she was learning to talk. “‘The Goat’ is my dad, at the end of the day,” says Hanan. When the family thought about a name for their new venture, the word “goat” came to mind right away. “The olive oil, parsley, lemon juice and spices make the food glorious. “Food has always been a passion growing up with Daddy, and Mom is a phenomenal cook as well.”Įverything prepared and sold at The Goat is “natural, no preservatives,” Hanan says. Because of her health issues, she says, “I can’t travel the world like I used to” – so she has joined her parents in their new venture. “We’re an international family,” says Hanan, who had a collapsed lung last year and spent three months in the hospital. Howard, a baritone who hails from Ireland, met Hanan, a mezzo-soprano, when they were students at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Hanan, a trained opera singer, is married to Howard Reddy, the vice president of university advancement at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. James, a native of Lebanon, works alongside his wife, Nancy, who was born in Columbus, Georgia, but grew up in Phenix City, Alabama. “You don’t meet that many like him who have such passion. “But when he gets into this environment, he has a passion for the food,” she says. They come from everywhere for the food.”Įven though he can seem a bit stern at times, his daughter, Hanan Tarabay Reddy, who works with him at the deli, describes her father as “a loving man, a calm man” when he’s at home. “People used to drive 500 miles to Pensacola,” he says. The Middle Eastern cuisine he serves verges on addictive.
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Ask for a small portion of hummus, and he will pack a container with a full pound of the stuff.īut no one holds it against him. Ask for two slices of cheesecake, for example, and James will insist you need four. If customers have any complaints at all about the deli, which opened in January to rave reviews, it’s that they spend too much money when they visit. James is as good a salesman as he is a cook. “You like salmon?” he asks a customer as he hands her a sample. Once at the counter, you’ll see the ever-present James, offering samples: Asiago-and-feta dip on fresh-baked baguettes bites of perfectly seasoned lamb tastes of freshly made tabbouleh, a Lebanese salad made of parsley, diced tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. To find The Goat, customers need only follow the pungent scent of garlic and spices. The Pig features several stores-within-a-store, including The Famous Lartigue Seafood Market and Andree’s, a Fairhope staple.
But then Danny Manning, the owner of the Fairhope Piggly Wiggly grocery store, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.Īnd now he’s back in business with The International Goat, A Gourmet Deli, which is located within The Pig, as the store is commonly known. After 40 years at Four Winds International Market in Pensacola, James Tarabay sold the shop last year and retired.
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