U.S.-Cuba thaw raises hopes for Cuban business owners, consumers

Many U.S. businesses are making plans to get into Cuba. They're hoping for a big boost in trade after the historic decision to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries. Now, an unbridled sense of optimism has unleashed on the streets of Havana, where the future looks more promising than ever, CBS News' Adriana Diaz reports.

For business owners like Olgalidia Hernandez, who runs a restaurant near the center of Havana, the gravity of Raul Castro's speech is starting to set in.

"It's such a huge step," Hernandez said. "For Cuba, it will be very good."

With a business dependent on tourist dollars, she's hopeful that more Americans will visit Cuban shores once travel restrictions are lifted.

"We started off with room for 25; now we can seat 50, and maybe in a few years we'll seat 100," Hernandez said.

It's not just Cuban entrepreneurs that are optimistic. Major American companies, including MasterCard, Cisco, Marriott, Pepsi, Caterpillar and Major League Baseball, have all shown interest in doing business in Cuba.

And it's a move that could rapidly transform a country virtually frozen in time since the U.S. embargo was imposed in 1960.

"The U.S. embargo has hurt Cuba tremendously, and it has hurt the average Cuban on the street tremendously in unnecessary ways," said Alberto Coll, professor of international law at DePaul University.

Averlio Hernandez Mulkay remembered Cuba before the embargo.

"We're really grateful to the U.S. government, to President Obama and to our president, Raul, for improving relations," he said.

In a Havana market, shoppers expressed a sense of relief knowing that half a century of animosity may finally be coming to a close.

"More clothes, more shoes, more of everything," Carmen Bermudez said. "Even food may be cheaper. Everything will be much better."

For the majority of Cubans who'd grown accustomed to life under the embargo, this week's news provided hope for the future.

"It's a new beginning because the United States is such a close neighbor, so powerful, so wealthy, so large, and this provides Cuba with an opportunity to begin a new stage in its life," Coll said.

Repairing a relationship strained by more than 50 years of Cold War tension won't happen overnight. For now, the embargo remains in place. For that reason, many Cubans remain cautiously optimistic but take comfort knowing that change is finally within their grasp.