“Let the food be your medicine and the medicine be your food.”

That is the motto hanging above The International Goat, a booth inside the Piggly Wiggly store at 100 Plantation Pointe in Fairhope. Owner James Tarabay says everything he sells is all-natural, contains no preservatives and has nothing synthetic.

Tarabay, a native of Beirut, Lebanon, previously spent 40 years running Four Winds International Market in Pensacola, Florida, before selling his shop and retiring. In 2021, Danny Manning, owner of the Fairhope Piggly Wiggly location, convinced him to come back into business with The International Goat.

As The International Goat’s motto suggests, Tarabay places a strong emphasis on the ingredients used in his food.

“We changed a lot of people from being unhealthy to become healthy because of what they’re eating, what they’re drinking, and that’s what we have been doing for the last seven years,” Tarabay said. “It’s very important. What you eat is very important because our body is made from food and water, not made from chemicals and preservatives, so what you eat, let the food be your medicine.”

The origin of their name comes from Tarabay’s family. His granddaughter had trouble pronouncing “jidi,” which is grandfather in Arabic. Her pronunciation of the word would actually come off as “little goat.”

He is also “the GOAT” in his family. If you watch enough sports, you would know that “GOAT” is an acronym for Greatest of All Time.

Being from Lebanon, the food served at the Goat carries many international influences, serving several types of feta cheese dips, freshly baked baguettes and tabbouleh, which is a Lebanese salad consisting of parsley, diced tomatoes, garlic and olive oil, along with muffalettas, gyros and sandwiches.

The Goat also has many dessert options to choose, from cheesecake to German chocolate cake, to his homemade baklava and cannoli. He even has his own coffee and an array of internationally sourced items such as dozens of imported cheeses.

If you don’t know what to try, don’t worry, Tarabay gladly provides customers with samples, whether it be his mango almond feta dip or his pickled piquanté peppers.

“I’m happy all the time and we’re helping our customers and people,” Tarabay said. “They can come to me for advice, and I tell them and they see the difference. We’re here for a short time on this earth we’re passing through. Help who you can help and bring people up.”