During the reign of Tongzhi and Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, Songhelou was a restaurant with three rooms and one floor, which was carefully managed by Xu Jinyuan, the owner, and won a high reputation for its special pasta and middle and low-grade dishes. In the second year (19 10), Xu Jinyuan died, and his son Xu took over the store business, but he did not ask about the store affairs. He only came to Shanghai to visit the "Red Account" at the end of the year. At first, due to the hard work of the original team, the income was fairly rich, but later it went from bad to worse because of the malpractice of the operators. By the fifth year of the Republic of China (19 16), there was no water. Some customers even ordered food, but they couldn't even get the green one, so they had to sneak out the back door and buy it now and burn it now to cope with the dining table. Knowing that there was nothing he could do, Xu was determined to go bankrupt. Zhang Wenbing, an old friend of Xu Jinyuan and the owner of Tianhexiang Restaurant and Jinhexiang Restaurant in Linton Road, Xi Zhong, went there first, and sold it to Yinyang, 800 yuan, for a lease term of 10 year under the signboard of 60 stones of rice a year (7 yuan silver per stone). Six people, including Su, Wang Juechu, Zou, Lu and Shen Zengkui, were invited to jointly manage Songhe Building with Yinyang shares of 65,438 yuan +0.200 yuan (one share for each 200 yuan) and be promoted to manager. It was officially accepted in 7 years and renamed as "Hutchison Pine Crane Tower".
Zhang Wenbing, also known as Ada, is from Henglin, Wujin County. I studied cooking since I was a child, worked as a chef in Ya 'an, Taicang, and came to Suzhou to run Tianhexiang Restaurant in the 20th year of Guangxu (1894). He knew all about restaurant management, and then transferred Chen Zhongzeng, the chef of Jinhexiang Restaurant (also known as Abatou), and Lu Guifu, the chef of Tianhexiang Restaurant, to Songhelou as helpers, and invited (also known as the Big Three), Gu and other famous chefs from Wuxi Daxinlou to cook, and hired famous chefs who are good at making Beijing-Soviet snacks as guests. After the opening of Hutchison Crane Tower in Kyrgyzstan, it changed its former appearance, specializing in traditional Soviet dishes and hosting high-end banquets. At one time, famous chefs gathered and launched dozens of four-season famous dishes, which became famous. 13 Join Suzhou General Chamber of Commerce.
In the Republic of China 18, when Guanqian Street was widened, more than 600 square meters of Songhe Building was rebuilt and expanded at the original site (now Guanqian Street 14 1), and the upstairs partition was 9 rooms with 30 tables. There is a gold-lettered signboard written by the enlightened monk at the door, and the writing on the wall reads "All kinds of big dishes are famous in Beijing and Shanghai; This is the only one, without the word "separation". 19 65438+ 10/8 was completed and opened, with a brand-new storefront and becoming a leading restaurant hosted by local celebrities. In 1930s, Mei Lanfang, one of the "Four Famous Dancers" of Peking Opera, went to the Soviet Union to give a charity performance for disaster relief, Feng Yuxiang, Li Liejun and other patriotic generals came to the Soviet Union, and all walks of life held a banquet in the Song Crane Tower. The business of Songhelou is booming, but it still insists on operating some low-grade dishes, and sends them to nearby hotels, hotels and residents' homes to win the trust of the people with small profits but quick turnover. Zhang Wenbing died in 23, and his second son, Zhang Zhijun, succeeded him as manager. Because of his opium addiction and inexperience, he was supported by Lu Guifu, an assistant professor, and his father's original team. During the Japanese puppet regime, it was once reduced to selling cakes through Yangtongtai Restaurant, a neighboring store. After War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory, it tried to develop, but prices soared, making ends meet and barely supporting. In 37 years, 10 was blackmailed by soldiers of war again, and the manager was held hostage and the workers fled to other places.
At the beginning of liberation, Zhang Zhijun, the manager, fled after withdrawing funds, and Yin, the assistant manager, also left Songhelou. At that time, there was no one in charge in the store. Under the care of the Municipal People's Government, the Songhe Tower was temporarily maintained by 8 people including Zhang, the head of the trade union, and 45 employees raised funds by themselves to maintain the operation in 800 yuan. 1956 After the public-private partnership, Songhelou resumed its traditional characteristic management and excellent service, and inherited and developed Subang traditional dishes, with 182 kinds of cold and hot dishes in four seasons. High-end dishes such as bear's paw and bird's nest can also be booked, and more than 70 kinds of traditional Su-bang dishes can be supplied throughout the year. No.3 waiter Sun Rongquan initiated the working method of "three diligence, four quickness, five hearts and six satisfactions", which was popularized in the national catering industry and participated in the National Heroes' Meeting 65438-0959. 1966 since the "cultural revolution", Songhelou was renamed as "Oriental Hotel", and the famous dishes were "closed", serving only popular dishes, and the famous shops and old shops lost their characteristics.
After the reform and opening up, Songhe Tower was rebuilt several times, and its area expanded to more than 3,600 square meters in the early 1980s. A new three-story building is built with eight restaurants, namely Crab Spring, Songhe, Friendship, Qianlong, Phoenix, Yuanyang, Hehe and Yingbin. Among them, "Friendship" is the reception hall for foreign guests, and the five elegant rooms, Hanshan, Tiger Hill, Canglang, Taihu Lake and Kowloon, are all decorated with Suzhou traditional handicrafts, integrating calligraphy, painting and sculpture, with the style of Jiangnan classical hall. The whole building can hold more than 200 tables and receive more than 2,000 people at the same time, ranking first among famous restaurants in the Soviet Union. There are many famous chefs and teachers, and they often provide 100 kinds of famous dishes. The turnover of 1984 reached 2.67 million yuan, 0 times that of 1966. On July 1984 and 15, at the invitation of Beijing catering industry, "Suzhou Songhelou" opened in Beijing Taiji Factory Street, covering an area of 1300 square meters. There are two restaurants named after Suzhou Gardens, which can accommodate 400 people at the same time. At present, the Song Crane Tower has lost its scenery, showing a bleak and desolate appearance. Signs of "Shanghai Ronghua Chicken Songhelou Branch" and "Songhelou Ballroom" have been hung on the main facade of Guanqian Street. The first floor in the east has been occupied by "Ivy Fashion Store", and the south faces eunuch lane. Although there is still a sign of "a century-old shop, dry dragon", only pasta shops can get by, and they are basically rented.