Party-hard Dubai ponders new workweek debate: When’s brunch?

By ISABEL DEBRE
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Friday will never be the same in Dubai. The Middle East’s financial hub has shifted its weekend this year from Friday and Saturday to the Western-style Saturday and Sunday along with the rest of the United Arab Emirates. That has thrown Dubai’s beloved institution of Friday brunch — a favorite custom of expats who revel in hourslong booze-soaked, Instagram-worthy buffets — into disarray. Locked in a culinary arms race to attract Dubai’s big spenders, brunch destinations are keen to keep the extravaganza alive despite the weekend upheaval. While the industry seeks to shift brunch to Saturday, uncertainty reigns as residents mourn the loss of a fabled Dubai rite.