---
title: "QSR: Viva Cuba?"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/fd54567c-03b4-417d-a2c9-f5e0aae71b85
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/qsr-viva-cuba-1768
category: "QSR"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "QSR"
topics: ["Emerging brands"]
published: 2015-06-08T19:14:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T13:23:40.546Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/8d777f385d3dfec8815d20f7496026dc7509.png
---

# QSR: Viva Cuba?

**TL;DR:** Quick-service restaurants may be among the first American businesses to enter Cuba following normalized relations between the two countries. Many brands are considering their options in Cuba's fertile market.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2015-06-08. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/qsr-viva-cuba-1768).*

## Story

Is the former home of Fidel Castro the next hotspot for franchising? That’s the question posed by QSR. The new source recently reported that quick-service restaurants could be among the first American businesses to flood the country now that relations have become normalized between Cuba and the United States.

“In Cuba, the people are [excited] for quick-service brands,” Dr. Jose Oro, head of research for Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors, told QSR. “In a way, that will be considered a portent of changes in the entire society, a step toward the future.”

As the news source was told by a Havana tour guide, many Cubans have only ever seen American-style hamburgers in pictures. If quick-service restaurants started washing up on Cuba’s shores, it would be a major change, to say the least.

However, there’s no doubt many brands are considering their options when it comes to the country’s fertile yet virgin market.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- United States (location)
- market entry (topic)
- quick service restaurants (topic)
- Cuba (location)
- cuba expansion (topic)
- us cuba relations (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/qsr-viva-cuba-1768). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/fd54567c-03b4-417d-a2c9-f5e0aae71b85).