Only one year after insurgents were preparing their assault on Tripoli, life in Libya has largely changed for the better. Qaddafi is dead, the first democratic elections in the country’s history were held last month, and, perhaps most auspicious of all, Cinnabon has set up shop in the capital.

Multiple news outlets in the U.S. remarked upon the July 2 opening of Libya’s first American dining franchise, a Cinnabon-Carvel store (the two brands are sister companies) on Girgarish Road, a busy commercial street in a swanky district of Tripoli. But they haven’t talked much about how popular Cinnabon has proven among Libyans. That’s unfortunate, because it’s no coincidence that this American dessert is as successful as it is in the Libyan desert.

According to a statement by the company, the Libyan store is one of the most profitable Cinnabon branches in the world, with its first-week sales five times higher than the average American Cinnabon for the same period. (It helps that they have been open during the month of Ramadan, when customers have streamed in between dusk and 3:30 am.) “The store is very busy, and the people are very, very anxious to see the new Libya and the Western style of life,” says Arief Swadiek, who co-owns the Libyan Cinnabon-Carvel franchise with his brother Ahmed.

In some ways, the introduction of Cinnabon to Libya lends itself to anthropological interpretation. Cinnabon is an example of the decidedly Western genre of dining known as “eatertainment” in the food industry—an instance where sensations of decadence are foregrounded in the dining experience. It all starts with the sugar-and-spice Cinnabon scent, which lures customers in with the promise of an exaggeratedly indulgent encounter with food. And indulgent it is: one original Cinnabon, with its luscious dough and sickly sweet frosting, contains 880 calories and 36 grams of fat—more than half the recommended daily value. It’s like eating four of your grandma’s cinnamon buns in one sitting. Much of Cinnabon’s appeal is derived from this mix of the homey and the totally extravagant—a combination that some might say is authentically American.

But, in other ways, Cinnabon’s signature products also speak directly to the heart of Middle Eastern culture. The Libyan Cinnabon is not an anomaly: It opened following a decade of rapid growth in the Arab world. One reason for this is that, having grown up eating baklava, syrup-soaked semolina, and other nutty sweetmeats, Middle Easterners have a long-standing love of intensely sweet desserts. Mike Shattuck, the president of Cinnabon’s parent company Focus Brands Inc., says the brand has focused on the Middle East as it expands because “cinnamon and sweet baked goods are part of the culture already.” Combine that with their burgeoning oil economies and low labor costs, and you’ve got a sweet deal for Cinnabon.