The Hard Swallow is now closed

Workers have removed the sign outside The Hard Swallow at 140 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street (thanks to Steven for the photo). 

As previously reported, the bar closed after service this past Saturday night. This came two-plus months after the sudden passing of co-owner Leroy "Big Lee" Lloyd, who was 51. 

Maria "Sasha" Lloyd, his wife and business partner, hosted a closing-night party on Saturday — which also happens to be close to Lee's birthday — featuring regulars from the Coney Island Circus Sideshow. (Big Lee grew up in Coney Island.) 

While the Hard Swallow is done, Sasha's business partner will be keeping the space and eventually opening a new bar after going through the liquor license process. 

As for Sasha, a lifelong neighborhood resident, she's making a fresh start and will move to Hawaii in the weeks ahead. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by The Hard Swallow on its last night... and took a parting shot of Sasha...

... and a very full bar...

A farewell to Big Lee and the Hard Swallow

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The Hard Swallow is going out in Coney Island style this weekend. 

The neighborhood bar at 140 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street closes after service on Saturday night.

This comes two-plus months after the sudden passing of co-owner Leroy "Big Lee" Lloyd, who was 51. 

Maria "Sasha" Lloyd, his wife and business partner, has planned a closing-night party on Saturday — which also happens to be close to Lee's birthday — featuring regulars from the Coney Island Circus Sideshow. (Big Lee grew up in Coney Island.)

"Anyone who feels connected to the bar and Big Lee is invited to come here on Saturday," said Sasha, a lifelong neighborhood resident. "Lee didn't want tears; he wanted a celebration."

She has also hired a videographer to record testimonials about Big Lee as a keepsake for her two sons, Nicholas and Jacob. (People who can't make the event can record a video and post it on social media with the hashtag #ThankYouBigLee, and those will be included in the keepsake for the family, she said.)

I recently stopped by the bar and met (from the left) bar manager Audreana "Storm" Janelle, bartender Socks Markley, Sasha and bartender Caitlyn "Aurora" Milkman

While the Hard Swallow is closing, Sasha's business partner will be keeping the space and eventually opening a new bar after going through the liquor license process.

As for Sasha, she decided to make a fresh start and will be moving to Hawaii next month, a plan put into effect while Big Lee was still alive. 

Sasha said she is having difficulty mourning and grieving while still in the same apartment and bar. She and Big Lee had the Hard Swallow for over eight years; it was their whole life, she said.

RIP Big Lee

Leroy "Big Lee" Lloyd, who owned and operated The Hard Swallow on First Avenue, died on Friday. According to an Instagram post from his wife and business partner, Maria "Sasha" Lloyd, he died of hypertensive cardiac arrest. He was 51. 

If you didn't know Big Lee, you likely saw him at some point in the neighborhood. He was 6-3, though he seemed taller with his chunky black boots. As a Vice feature once noted: "Most people were terrified of Big Lee." 

However, he was one of the kindest people you'd meet, with the sincere friendliness of a hospitality veteran. Big Lee was a former doorman/bouncer at Hogs & Heifers and Coney Island High on St. Mark's Place as well as other NYC establishments.

He and Sasha finally realized their dream of opening their own bar in 2015 with Big Lee's at 140 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. After a lengthy legal battle "with a notorious bar magnate," the Hard Swallow opened in the space in 2018. (Photo below from 2018 by Steven.)

Sasha said that the Hard Swallow "will remain open while we navigate this new reality." 

Big Lee, a Coney Island native, raised two sons, Nicholas and Jacob, with Sasha. 

There's a visitation this Sunday, July 23, from 4-8 p.m. at Provenzano Lanza Funeral Home, 43 Second Ave. between Second Street and Third Street. 

A family friend launched a GoFundMe to help Sasha and her sons manage funeral expenses and other financial challenges after Big Lee's death.

Top photo via Instagram

The Hard Swallow returns on 1st Avenue

[Photo by Steven]

The Hard Swallow (aka Big Lee's) reopened last month at 140 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street... and the bar is holding its grand re-opening party tomorrow (Saturday!) night at 8:30.

The no-frills bar had been closed for more than a year as husband-and-wife owners Leroy “Big Lee” and Maria "Sasha" Lloyd (pictured above) were locked in a legal battle with the previous owners. The Lloyds also had to go before CB3 and the SLA for a new liquor license. (This archived DNAinfo piece from March 2017 has all the background.)

The bar opened in the summer of 2015 in the former Spanky and Darla's space. Big Lee is a former doorman/bouncer at Hogs & Heifers as well as Coney Island High on St. Mark's Place (he is also originally from Coney Island).