Some of Las Vegas' top restaurant people, joined a congresswoman outside Esther's Kitchen.

Democrat Dina Titus was here to tell us why the restaurant revitalization fund is so important, especially in a year when Nevada has lost, at last count, more than 21,000 restaurant jobs. Before the pandemic, restaurants made up 15 percent of Nevada's employment.

“This is part of our diversity, part of our excitement. We just don't want to lose this cultural aspect, this culinary aspect, and the economic benefits,” Titus told me Wednesday.

COVID-19 has clobbered all industries, but if there's one that got put on a ventilator it was our restaurant sector.

So this revitalization fund is important: nationally, it's $28 billion tucked into the two trillion dollar relief bill signed into law by President Biden. Nevada gets a chunk.

The money is needed, says John Anthony, of Sparrow + Wolf.

“We can securely plan for the future and kind of move forward with a lot of confidence,” he says.

He says that's what the money will mean for his restaurant on Spring Mountain. It is four years old, and through grit and determination, has made it through 2020.

“Everything we've been doing for the last year has been just making sure that our doors are open the next day and that we can employ our staff,” says Anthony.

Not an easy feat.

Washington has rolled out several lifelines for businesses over the past year.

For restaurants, many bleeding cash, the best part is this is a grant, not a loan: they don't have to pay back the money.

The help is targeted, says Congresswoman Titus.

“This bill is specifically for smaller businesses like family-owned restaurants,” says Titus.

The Small Business Administration is responsible for administering the revitalization fund. The SBA says restaurants will be able to apply for grants starting in early April.