THE VISION OF TERRA SANCTA TRADING IS SIMPLE:
SHARE THE REVIVAL OF THE ANCIENT WINE, BEER AND SPIRIT MAKING TRADITIONS OF THE HOLY LAND WITH THE U.S. MARKET. THIS BY WAY OF A DIVERSE, UNIQUE AND QUALITY-FOCUSED SUPPLY OF PRODUCTS ORIGINATING FROM THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN IN GENERAL, AND THE HOLY LAND IN PARTICULAR. – SAHA! (GOOD HEALTH)
Born and raised in San Francisco to Palestinian parents, Jason Bajalia has always had strong ties to the food and beverage industry. During his pre-High School years; Bajalia worked in several of his family’s Middle Eastern restaurants in and around the Bay area. In 1989, Jason’s family relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, where he attended High School and College. In 1999, he founded one of the first Hooka lounges on the East Coast: The Casbah Cafe.
Terra Sancta Trading, a Jacksonville, FL based beverage distributor with a focus on Eastern Mediterranean products, is the most recent venture of Jason Bajalia and his brother and business partner, Saed Bajalia.
“No-doubt everyone has their own perception of the Middle East; but politics aside, through Terra Sancta I not only want to introduce the products to the U.S., but also help people understand the importance of the Levant [Eastern Mediterranean] today. Not a lot of people realize this is where wine originally came from. It’s where beer came from. The role this part of the world has played in shaping the beverage industry as we know it today is grossly underestimated.”
Through the close relationships the Bajalia brothers maintain with their suppliers, they continue to invest countless hours speaking with growers and businesses in the Eastern Mediterranean, and shaping the strategic growth of Terra Sancta in the U.S.
“My parents were born in Ramallah, 9 miles North of Jerusalem, so my connection with the Levant of is a little stronger than most. One of the first products I picked-up for Terra Sancta was Arak Ramallah, our national beverage…but Ramallah is so much more than just a drink in this part of the world. When I was young, my mother would rub it on our gums to relieve toothache…rub it on our bellys for stomach ache. In Palestine there’s literally a bottle of Ramallah in every house. It has deep roots in Palestinian culture. This is just one of the many products I saw a huge opportunity to introduce to the U.S. market…and I know we have only just started to scratch the surface.”