Nader El-Salibi and Marwan Yousef met each other while working in a Lebanese restaurant in New York City. They were both students at the time who had come to the United States to study at Brooklyn College. It was around the same time that Nader met also met his wife Maritza. After college, Nader and Maritza married and the couple moved to Ecuador, South America to put their degrees in Finance and Business management to use. Meanwhile Marwan made his home in New York. Marwan happened upon Fairhope, Alabama when he came to visit his father who had moved to the small city on Mobile Bay’s Eastern Shore. After just a two week stay, he decided that he would not be returning to New York. He began working with his father, who is a master tailor and upholster. While both men were following family business traditions they still longed for the fulfilment that the food industry was able to provide them with. Martiza herself is a formally trained pastry chef. In addition to running their family business, she and Nader started their own catering operation in Ecuador and would spend their weekends involved with food preparation for parties and events. A telephone call around Christmas of 2014 was all it took for Nader and Marwan to get the wheels in motion for a reunion that would result in a tasty joint venture by the name of Sage. Marwan had done his research and knew that this area needed some different flavors and healthier dining options that he his former kitchen cohort would be able to authentically provide. He urged Nader to come visit Fairhope and see for himself. That was all it took. The guys signed a lease on a vacant spot on Fairhope Avenue and Nader phoned his wife, Maritza and told her to do what was necessary with the business, pack up the children and join him in Alabama. The three worked together on remodeling and construction of the interior of the new restaurant. It was construction by day and menu tweaking at night. They have been overwhelmed by all the support from the locals since they even started construction and are very thankful to the neighbors and friends who have helped them along the way. Sage offers authentic Lebanese Cuisine and includes appetizers such as hummus, baba ghanoush, falafel, grape leaves, kibbeh and labneh. They have a tabouli salad in addition to two other mixed green salads that can be accented with chicken or falafel. Pita and French Breads are used in a variety of sandwiches that are offered. Chicken Shawarma, Beef Shawarma, Chicken Gourmet and Falafel Sandwiches are available. For those diners who are looking to step outside of the box without a total commitment there is a grilled 3 cheese and sundried tomato sandwich and also a veggie stacker sandwich. Sage offers a different daily dinner special in addition to the dinner entrees on the menu that include shish kebab, chicken kebab, kafta kebab, lamb chops, a kebab mixer and a NYC style chicken over rice. In addition to traditional beverages, Sage also offers Turkish coffee, Turkish iced coffee, Lebanese Iced Tea and Sage Lemonade. Ask about their “sweet of the day”. They do not currently serve alcoholic beverages but if you would like to BYOB there is no corkage fee. Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from 11:30am until 9pm. Sage Lebanese Cuisine & Cafe, 319 Fairhope Avenue, Fairhope (251) 517-7536 • www.sagelebanesecuisine.com • Facebook “Sage Lebanse Cuisine & Cafe”