Shea partnered with the award winning restaurant team of Tim McKee and Josh Thoma (La Belle Vie, Solera) on Barrio, a tequila bar concept, offering more than 100 varieties of tequila and a menu featuring "Latin street foods."  While McKee and Thoma are investors in the project, owners Tim Rooney, a local real estate developer, and Ryan Burnet, a partner in both Chambers and W Minneapolis - The Foshay, dreamt up the idea and brought the various players together, allowing the concept to evolve. 

For Barrio, Shea worked on the development of the entire restaurant concept and based the logo design on street-inspired spray-paint art and a traditional Latin "sacred heart" tattoo. The stylish 1,900 square foot space was designed to evoke a close-to-the-border speakeasy. Found Latin artifacts and souvenirs combined with reclaimed fixtures and custom-built furniture create a casual, comfortable neighborhood hangout. A bull's skull, portraits of famous Latin renegades, dancing Mexican marionettes, provocative hand-painted murals, and a wall of more than 250 vintage ‘pin-up girl' illustrations give the space an air of fun and irreverence. The space has seating for 100 patrons and includes an upstairs mezzanine level and large glass folding doors that open the storefront to additional patio seating on Nicollet Mall.

Barrio will offer more than 100 varieties of tequila and will offer a variety of "compadres" (chasers or sides) to complement them. Some compadres include Spicy Grapefruit, Pineapple Lime, Cilantro-Tomato Water, and Melon and Ginger/Apple. Cocktails such as "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" consist of tequila with tamarind cinnamon cola, and the "Cobra Verde" is a cherry lime margarita with a touch of absinthe.

The menu features dishes influenced by the foods of Mexico and Latin America. McKee's menu offers traditional Latin fare with bold new flavors, including tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, steaks and seafood. Crowd favorites include crab empanadas with salsa verde and avocado and potato sopes with goat cheese and red-chile tomatillo salsa. Barrio opened in August, 2008, and serves lunch, dinner, happy hour and late-night menus daily.