Zhengyang Restaurant is also called Zhengyanglou Restaurant. It is a restaurant seated on the eastern side of Qianmen Street, opened during the reign of Emperor Daoguang during the Qing Dynasty, as one of the eight famous restaurants in ancient Beijing.
正阳楼又叫正阳楼饭店，是前门大街路东的一家饭馆，却是老北京时代著名的八大楼之一，开业于清道光年间。

Zhengyanglou Restaurant was at first simply a booth selling liquor, whose owner’s name was Sun Xiaobian from Ye County, Shandong Province. He came to Beijing to seek his fortune after a serious drought struck his hometown. In the daytime, he went out to do some part-time jobs, and in the night he sheltered himself in the shabby temple of a grinding factory in Qianmen Street. As time went by, he got acquainted with several town-fellows, with whose help Sun Xiaobian opened the liquor stall on the eastern side of Qianmen Street. Several years later, Sun Xiaobian had some savings and wanted to find a storefront. As chance would have it, a tavern in Qianmen Street was to close its business, so Sun Xiaobian entrusted a friend to rent the tavern and renamed it Zhengyanglou (the sun at noon), following the name of Zhengyang Gate, wishing that his business could be as thriving as the sun at noon and never decline.
正阳楼的前身是个小酒摊子，掌柜的姓孙名小辫，山东掖县人。家乡遭受大旱灾，他谋生来到京城。白天他外出找活干，夜里就在前门打磨厂的一个破庙里栖身。日子长了便结识了几个老乡，他们帮助孙小辫在前门大街路东开了家小酒摊子。几年之后，孙小辫有了一些积蓄，便想着找家铺面房。说来也巧，正好前门大街上有家小酒馆想歇业，孙小辫就托人把小酒馆给盘了过来，易名为正阳楼，意欲借正阳门之名，让自己的买卖像正午的太阳一样兴旺不衰。

After Zhengyanglou opened, seats were available both upstairs and downstairs. Besides the commonly seen boiled peanuts, rose dates, fried ginger-slice cakes, small crisp fish, spicy cabbages, lamb-head meat and sliced pig tongue with chili oil, fat crabs were also available here in autumn. The liquor and rice wine sold in it were never adulterated. Thus, business here became better and better. In the years of Emperor Guangxu, Sun Xiaobian’s son Sun Xueren inherited the tavern. He invited several chefs from his hometown who were adept at cooking Shandong cuisine. This contributed to the shift of Zhengyanglou from a small tavern to a restaurant.
正阳楼酒馆开张之后，楼上楼下都设了座位，酒菜除了一般的煮花生、玫瑰枣、炸排叉、小酥鱼、辣白菜、羊头肉和猪口条外，到了秋天还有大螃蟹。所卖的白酒、黄酒，从来不掺假，生意因此越来越红火。到了光绪年间，孙小辫的儿子孙学仁当上了掌柜的，他从山东老家请来了几位善于烹制山东风味菜的师傅，正阳楼便从小酒馆一跃而成了饭馆。

Later, Sun Xueren opened a steamed bean-cake shop named Zhengming House in a meat-selling street alongside Qianmen Street, and entrusted the restaurant to one of his family members called Sun Xueshi. In the late Qing Dynasty, Sun Xueren and Sun Xueshi came into conflict and resorted to the law to resolve their issues. After the mediation, Sun Xueren left Zhengyanglou Restaurant to Sun Xueshi who was very sociable and had friends in all circles. In the period of the Republic of China, Sun Xueshi became a celebrity in business circle and joined the Chamber of Commerce. In the twelfth year of the Republic of China, he was elected the President of the Chamber of Commerce in Beijing. He was influential not only in the business circle but also in the military and political circles. With the enhancement of Sun Xueshi’s social status, Zhengyanglou Restaurant gained an unprecedented impetus in development. Back then, Zhengyanglou Restaurant was full of customers every day. Many important military and political figures such as Yuan Shikai, Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui were also regular visitors. Some important banquets were even held there.
随后，孙掌柜又在前门大街肉市街里开了一家叫正明斋的饽饽铺子。饭馆则交由本家一个叫孙学士的管理。清朝末年，孙学仁和孙学士之间发生了矛盾，以至对簿公堂，后经调解，孙学仁将正阳楼分给了孙学士。这个孙学士生性喜爱交际，各界都有朋友。到了民国期间，孙学士成了商界的知名人士，还入了商会。民国12年，孙学士当上了北京商会的会长。不仅在商界，在当时的军界、政界他都有一定的位置。由于孙学士社会地位的提高，正阳楼饭馆也有了前所未有的发展。当时，天天宾客盈门，许多军政界的要人，如：袁世凯、黎元洪、段祺瑞等，都成了正阳楼的常客，连一些重要的宴请也在此举办。

The popularity of Zhengyanglou Restaurant at that time should not only be attributed to Sun Xueshi’s superior status and good social network, but also to the good taste of its food. The big crabs and instant-boiled mutton were especially preferred by the customers. It is said those who loved eating crabs would come here to taste the steamed crabs every autumn. As is known to all, the crabs in autumn are the fattest. When autumn came, Zhengyanglou Restaurant would send people to buy crabs in the Tianjin coastal areas. They bought the biggest and most active ones from local fishermen and transported them to Beijing in specially-designed baskets. The crabs were left to disgorge for a couple of days, and then they were washed and had their claws tied with hemp strings. Then they were put into a bamboo steamer. When people ate crabs, they dipped the crab meat in bruised ginger and vinegar for dispelling the coldness and improving the flavor. Zhengyanglou Restaurant was also said to have prepared small hammers, small pinchers, small tweezers and small boards to facilitate people’s eating of crabs.
正阳楼饭馆红极一时，不光得力于孙学士优越的地位及极好的人缘，正阳楼的饭菜也确实色香味俱佳。特别是大螃蟹和涮羊肉，深受顾客的偏爱。据说每年的秋季，爱吃螃蟹的人都要到正阳楼来品尝蒸螃蟹。众所周知，秋天的螃蟹最肥最壮。所以，每到秋天，正阳楼便派出伙计到天津沿海一带去选购螃蟹。他们从当地渔民手中挑选又大又活的，放在专门的篓子里运回北京，先让螃蟹吐两天杂物，然后由小伙计把螃蟹清洗之后，用细麻绳将其爪子和大钳子捆好，放进大笼屉里蒸熟。吃的时候，蘸上鲜姜和米醋，为的是去寒提味。据说正阳楼为了方便顾客吃螃蟹，还专门准备了小锤子、小钳子、小镊子和小木板。