Since it opened last month, Ma Soba, the newest counter-style restaurant in Holyoke Center, has become one of its most successful. It attracts about 700 people a day, a number "not even the Gap" could draw, said Constance Smith of the Harvard Real Estate leasing office.

"Food, if it's done right, makes a lot of money," she said.

Carlos Caldwell, assistant manager at Ma Soba, which serves Asian food, said the restaurant is student-friendly.

"The prices are reasonable, it's semi-fast food but it's higher quality, and there's a lot of space in here too," Caldwell said.

Levitan of Harvard Planning said he wants community input for the reevaluation.

"We are going to be reaching out and eliciting a lot of responses from people," he said.

Daniel J. Epstein '99, who was buying Gala Ball tickets at the University Information Center yesterday, said he would like to see different shops open in Holyoke Center.

"There's nothing in here I want to buy," he said. "It would be cool to have a coffee shop--not like An Bon Pain--with some real atmosphere, more laid-back, very bohemian."But David M. Krinsky '99 said he understood the appeal of the current set-up.

"This is a big tourist attraction, and I don't think that that's a bad thing," he said. "Having the little artistic booths and whatnot gives a sort of classy image to the whole place."

Artsmart's Irving said she can understand why students may not be attracted to the Shops. "It needs to be cooler," she said. "I'm young and I spent a lot of time Harvard Square when I was in high school and college, and maybe they need some fresh perspective on design and presentation. The Shops are going through a bit of an identity crisis.