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SALT LAKE CITY — Actor Ty Burrell immediately fell in love with Salt Lake City for its humility and unassuming nature.
The "Modern Family" star, who calls Salt Lake City his home, expressed his feelings of affection for the city in a letter published in the Huffington Post Love Letters section Wednesday. Burrell said the love has been relatively brief, but strong — he came to Utah to be close to his then-girlfriend Holly and perform in a play at the Pioneer Theatre Company in 1999.
"Over the next 10 years my wife and I travelled back and forth to spend time with family and began to fall deeper in love with your incredibly affordable lifestyle and immediate access to the outdoors," he wrote. "We fell so deeply that we didn't feel like we could be apart anymore and we moved from New York in 2008."
Burrell, whose recent film appearances include "Muppets Most Wanted," lives in Utah with his wife and two young daughters while not working on film projects. He opened the eatery Beer Bar in Salt Lake City in April and is also the co-owner of Bar X, which is located next door.
After Burrell moved to Utah, his mother, brother and a few cousins followed suit. He wrote that he expects Salt Lake City to explode onto the national scene in the near future.
"I will try to keep my jealousies at bay as people move here," he wrote. "I'll make you a deal. If, as you grow, you pay attention with great detail to traffic, air quality, conservation, affordable housing, and social justice, then I will work hard to never get so weirdly possessive that you need to take out a restraining order."
Burrell is originally from Grants Pass, Oregon.
