The recently passed federal COVID-19 relief bill will be providing money to people and industries struggling in the pandemic.

Part of those funds will be going to restaurants across the country to try and recoup financial losses, and to assist in hiring back food service staff.

Arizona Restaurant Association President Steve Chucri says this relief money is a welcome sight for restaurants looking for stability.

“It’s a huge boon to Arizona’s restaurant economy, especially given the fact that we’ve lost $2.75 billion in restaurant sales in 2020 due to COVID-19, dollars we’ll never get back,” said Chucri.

He says he is unsure exactly how much money will be headed to local restaurants, but he does know what they will use it for.

“An investment in capital, for things that needed to be replaced over the past year, and secondly an investment in human capital, making sure that we can get our employees back to work,” said Chucri.

He says Arizona restaurants displaced 80% of their workforce over the past year, and are still in the process of hiring those workers back as restaurants move closer to full capacity.

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