Tim Hortons has expanded to the Middle East, opening its first full-service restaurant in Dubai.

``It's a historic moment,'' CEO Paul House said Tuesday of the Dubai ``cafe and bake shop,'' which opened Saturday. ``We have got some smaller self-serve operations in Ireland but this is what I believe is our first true export of the brand.''

The Oakville, Ont.-company announced earlier this year it had signed a master licence agreement with Dubai-based Apparel Group to build 120 stores in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman over the next five years.

The Dubai menu is identical to Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada, said House, who spoke at a conference in downtown Toronto.

Tim Hortons sees opportunity in its value-priced food options, which it says are not readily available in the mature coffee region.

The company has expanded to more than 600 stores in a dozen states since opening its first U.S. store in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1985, and plans to open another 300 locations over the next three years.

Late last year, the company said it would close 54 locations in New England, a money-losing market for the company, where it faces strong competition from locally headquartered Dunkin' Donuts.

Tim Hortons is Canada's biggest restaurant chain with annual sales of $2.5 billion and the fourth-biggest in North America with more than 3,700 restaurants on the continent.

With files from The Canadian Press