A Bridgeport restaurant received federal grant money that was handed to the owners by Mayor Joe Ganim.

Eat Fish on Main Street is the first recipient of federal grant money that will go toward helping 144 small business in Bridgeport.

A total of $1 million from the CARES Act has been divided up to help them recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Ganim says it’s taken too long to get money into the hands of city businesses and this is just a small start.

He says letters have been sent out this week to the other businesses who applied and will receive grant money.

The owners say the $10,000 will help with overhead costs, but he and his wife plan to save $1,000 to give to another small business.

They say small businesses are the backbone of the community and they have to support each other.