Alcohol has never been easy to get in Harvard Square, but the recent closing of several area bars has made it even harder, forcing students to change their drinking habits.

Since the Piccadilly Filly Bar on Mt. Auburn St. was levelled this summer and Jack's, a club near Central Square, was gutted by a fire last spring, students have discovered there are few bona fide bars remaining within the confines of Harvard Square. "Well, there's the Boathouse, and then there's Grendel's and there's the Bow and Arrow Pub, but those are about the only real bars in the Square that I can think of," says Quincy House junior Steve Dodge '89.

Mary Psychas '90 agrees, saying, "Besides the Bow and Arrow and the Boathouse, I can't really think of any real bars that people hang out at. Now that ChiChi's is closed, Jack's is closed, and the Filly is gone, people are having to find new places to go."

But Timothy G. Hoescht '88 says he does not think the closing of the Filly has affected Harvard social life much.

"I don't think the closing of the Filly will really hurt anyone's social life. You just have to find a new scene. You can always find some place to go to," Hoechst says, adding that students' choice of bars depends on what they are looking for.

"If you're not concerned with food or anything, Charlie's Kitchen is an o.k. bar," he says. "Sometimes you just want a place where the drinks are cheap and you don't stick to the seats. But if you're looking for atmosphere or brass plating, you'll have a harder time in the Square."

Hoechst says the Boathouse is now becoming an undergraduate hangout, while in the past B-School students tended to frequent it more.

And business is booming because area bars like the Filly and Jack's have closed down, according to Debbie, the day manager at the Bow and Arrow Pub.

"Last spring the place was crowded, but it wasn't always students," she says. "Nowadays the place is packed. The students started coming back a week ago, and now people are having to push to get to the bar."

John Brown, the manager of The Boathouse Bar, says he has also noticed an increase in student business. "Obviously, when you cut down on the odds, you'll do more business," Brown says. He says more college seniors, as well as students at the Kennedy and Business schools, are frequenting the bar this year.

Other bartenders have noted similar increases. Aron, the bartender at Pizzeria Uno's, estimated that 30 percent of Uno's weekend business is Harvard students. And Grendel's owner Herbie Kulzer says his business has also increased now that the nearby Filly has closed.

But despite the fact that students seem to be finding new places to drink in the Square, many complain that there are too few real college bars in the square.

"You can go to the Wursthaus or to a bar at a restaurant or something, but that's not just the same," Psychas says.

Local bartenders say they think there is definitely a market for a college bar. "There are a lot of restaurant bars, like Uno's here, and there are some grad student hangouts, but there's not really just a college bar scene," Aron says. "Kids are just out of luck."

Aron says he thinks Harvard students are being forced to leave Cambridge to go to Kenmore Square and into Boston to find drinks. And students agree that they have to wander farther