"Although the alternative atmosphere may be ruined, from a business prospect, the large chains have brought in other genres of people and I don't think they have hurt the Square at all," says Tower Records manager Tracey Smith.

Tower Records opened its doors in Harvard Square in October 1991 and is one of 109 Tower stores around the world. Each Tower store is independently owned.

Smith says that business at her store "continues to grow each year." That growth has come in spite of the fierce competition between small and large music retailers in the Square. "HMV first opened three weeks after we did and business did drop substantially, then we leveled off," Smith says.

Smith dismisses the notion that competition has caused many small businesses to close. Instead, she says high rents around the Square have hurt small merchants.

"I think the [small businesses] will be squeezed out, not because of competition but because of the large rents...it is way too expensive for a small business person," Smith says.

Still, she laments that, because of the high cost of doing business there, "the Square will lose the general diversity that you get from small businesses."

Chili's general manager Matt Perry says the invasion of the large chains is inevitable in places like Harvard Square.

The Chilis restaurant opened in the Square in 1987, and Perry says business has increased every year. There are 19 Chili's restaurants in New England and two in the Boston area.

Perry says that people who typically like the quaint, friendly atmosphere of some of the small eating establishments in the Square should not be deterred by the large chains.

He says that even at a chain restaurant like his, patrons can get the same type of service and atmosphere as they would at a smaller restaurant.

"We've tried to create a more neighborhood bar atmosphere here, we have the same bartender who knows the regulars by name," Perry says.

"Personally I shop the independents whenever I can," he adds. "I like the mom and pop stores, but that does not mean you can't get mom and pop in a corporate atmosphere."

Stopping By

Some small business owners are especially glad that Chili's and other large chains have moved into the Square, because they say that consumers who shop at the large stores will usually stop by their quainter establishments.

"The bigger the company, the better the business for us," University Typewriter manager Justin Lopes said. "They draw more people into the Square."