Dubai Asks, “What about Brunch?” | God's World News

Dubai Asks, “What about Brunch?”

03/01/2022
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    A DJ performs music while people enjoy brunch at a hotel with a city skyline view in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP/Kamran Jebreili)
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    CÉ LA VI offers a rooftop brunch with views of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. (CÉ LA VI/Facebook)
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    Migrating flamingoes fly by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP/Kamran Jebreili)
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    People shop in the Dubai Mall. (AP/Kamran Jebreili)
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    Workers hang from The Museum of the Future in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP/Kamran Jebreili)
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While lawmakers in California consider shortening the full-time workwork (see Regulating a Work-Rest Balance), workers in Dubai also face a work schedule shift. But this one threatens a loss that has some crying out, “Where’s our brunch?!”

The traditional workweek in the United Arab Emirates has been Sunday through Thursday, with Friday and Saturday treated as the equivalent to a Western society’s weekend. That’s because Friday is the holy day for Muslims.

But rather than spend Friday in worship, many of Dubai’s well-off citizens choose to spend that free day celebrating with a gluttonous party. Residents of good financial means enjoy an hours-long affair with a seemingly infinite supply of seafood, pizza, dessert, and more. The event is known simply as “Friday brunch.” And no one is eager to give it up.

But as of January 2, Emirati government employees are working half days on Fridays. Most private sector employees now work full Fridays. Why the change? It’s a move to align Dubai with the workweeks of Western and global markets.

The government thinks the transition makes financial sense. Once a modest fishing village, Dubai became rich from selling oil. Its wealth has grown to be vast, and today, Dubai is a global hub for trade, banking, and tourism.

But locals have solid standing for their objections. Friday brunch is a key revenue source for pandemic-battered restaurants. A Dubai brunch generally starts around noon. But then there’s the post-brunch brunch, and the evening brunch, and the midnight brunch. Wealthy locals and fawning tourists all participate—and that means cash flows as fluidly as the chocolate sauce in the Willy Wonka-esque fountains at one lavish hotel.

“It’s the experience Dubai is known for. It helped put Dubai on the map,” says Samantha Wood of the Foo­Diva restaurant review website.

Luxury eateries each have their own brunch styles. One steakhouse offers a James Bond theme with spy movie music in the background. At CÉ LA VI, one can dine beside a sprawling rooftop infinity pool with stunning views of the Burj Khalifa, the planet’s tallest tower.

The workweek shift brings uncertainty for these establishments that count on the brunch. Without Friday, restaurant executives wonder whether Dubai can keep its luster.

The best they can do for now is to make lemonade from the lemons foisted upon them. So the industry has sought to recast the brunch day, claiming, “Saturday is the new Friday.”

Why? The world is culturally diverse, and God says that His Kingdom will be made of people from all nations. Knowing about other cultures and how they work—or don’t work—together in the global community can make us better agents of the gospel.