What happened to City Tavern’s Shawn Moriarty?

By CHARLES FERRUZZA

On the same day that my review of local bar dining hit the streets, I received a couple of phone calls from regulars at the City Tavern complaining that the new changes at this six-year-old Crossroads restaurant included one they were not happy about. Melissa Stevens of the Patricia Stevens Modeling Agency made the first call.

“Shawn Moriarty was the best bartender in Kansas City. He knew everyone’s favorite cocktail before they even sat down. He was professional, engaging, very elegant,” she said.

My friend Truman, another Moriarty fan, was practically traumatized by the news: “He was one of the few five-star bartenders in the city. Totally amazing.”

So what happened?