Actor Ty Burrell joins effort to raise funds for employees affected by Salt Lake fire
Aug 16, 2025, 7:00 AM
Christian Priskos, co-owner of Whiskey Street and White Horse, looks at the scene of a structure fire that destroyed four businesses on the 300 South block of Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City on Tuesday. (Kristin Murphy/Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Actor and Salt Lake resident Ty Burrell is helping the effort to raise funds for restaurant workers affected by this week’s Main Street fire in what he calls a “sequel nobody wanted.”
Burrell, who also co-owns Bar X and Beer Bar downtown, joined Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance executive director Dee Brewer in a video Thursday asking people to consider donating to the Main Street Fire Employee Assistance Fund. The Downtown Alliance launched the fund on Tuesday, seeking to collect at least $500,000 that will be distributed to employees who suddenly lost work after four Main Street businesses were destroyed Monday night.
Related: Large fire in downtown SLC destroys 4 businesses
“On Tuesday morning, 200 of our neighbors woke up unemployed. These are people who have taken care of us. Now, it’s our turn to take care of them,” Burrell said in the video, while sporting a Salt Lake City Fire Department cap.
Over $110,000 has already been raised, as of noon Friday, which will go toward helping workers with rent, groceries and transportation costs in the near-term, according to the Downtown Alliance, a nonprofit that supports downtown commerce. Employers who have positions available are also asked to reach out to the organization, Brewer added in the video.
The fund is similar to the Tip Your Server program that Salt Lake City created during the COVID-19 pandemic, which raised over $650,000 for bar and restaurant workers affected as many businesses were locked down in 2020. Burrell, best known for his role starring in “Modern Family,” backed that citywide effort as well.
He’s not the only downtown business owner who is chipping in. Carson Kitchen, 241 W. 200 South, announced that it will donate all of its profits collected from sales next week to the Salt Lake fund.
“This community is the reason we’re here. We’re heartbroken for our neighbors, and we want to do whatever we can to help,” said Cory Harwell, the restaurant’s owner, in a statement.
Salt Lake firefighters are still investigating the fire, which broke out in the kitchen of the London Belle Supper Club, 321 S. Main, before ripping through Los Tapatios Mexican Grill, Whiskey Street Cocktails & Dining, and White Horse Spirits & Kitchen Monday night. It caused about $5 million in damages, and three firefighters received minor injuries while battling the blaze.
A preliminary report on the fire is expected to be released in the coming weeks. A few other businesses in the area were also affected, but started reopening as early as Wednesday.
