MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis community continues to mourn the loss of the longtime bartender and restaurant manager Kevin "Shea" Grauer who was shot and killed Saturday.
According to Memphis Police Department, when officers arrived at 1703 Lockett Place in Midtown at 12:04 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, Shea was found lying unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
There are pictures covering the entrance to the Beauty Shop restaurant in Cooper Young as a tribute to Shea.
His sister Paige Taylor says he was the type of person who would drop everything to help someone in one of his establishments, coming around the bar to wrap them in a hug.
“There are so few experiences in your life that prepare you for something like this,” Taylor said. “For something so senseless and tragic and unexpected.”
Taylor says she is still trying to process her grief after her brother lost his life in a shooting near Lockett and Belvedere, not far from Zinnie's and Lampligher Lounge.
“We're still reeling from the loss of our youngest brother Beau [Grauer], seven months ago,” she said. “The family is just absolutely gutted by what has happened to Shea and both of them were taken from us far too soon.”
Shea was considered a fixture in the Midtown Memphis food scene, spending 18 years at the Beauty Shop. Seventeen of them were as manager.
"Every person that worked at the Beauty Shop, they were his family," Taylor said. "They are our family. They have seen us through the best and worst times.”
A father, husband, brother, son and advocate for social change, Taylor says what made her brother special was his heart.
"He saw the good in everyone," Taylor said. "Everyone loved him. He was kind, had a generous heart, he was devoted to his friends and family. He was funny. He had a quick wit quick wit and he was loved. He was so loved."
Taylor is the oldest of the four siblings but said her brothers shared a special bond.
"This is very devastating for our family, but I know this is really heavy for my brother Sean because he's lost his two brothers," she said.
Taylor said her family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love that the community has shown for Shea following his death.
"They wrapped our family in their prayers and messages, and they've posted so many moments — like funny, sweet moments on social media that reflect, you know, who he was as a person,” she said.
Still, Taylor says this is not the city she remembers growing up in.
“Memphis is broken — the city is broken,” she said. “Something has to be done. Something needs to change.”
Shea is survived by his wife Liz, son Ian and step-daughters Reese and Parker. His daughter Chloe passed away at the age of 3 due to a terminal condition.
MPD said it needs the public's help to solve this crime, as it is an ongoing Homicide investigation.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-2274 (CASH) or the Homicide Bureau at 636-3300.