The Harvard Square post office closed at 4:30 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. "The decision was made based on the safety of our employees and a lack of business," said Margaret Dimock of the post office.

The Gap on Brattle Street closed at 2:30 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. due to the weather and the lack of customers, said James, a store manager who had the day off. "I know I stayed inside all day long," he said.

The Coop, which closed at 4 p.m. withstood lost business to protect the safety of its employees, said company President Jerry T. Murphy '73. "We like to err on the side of safety in terms of all of the employees getting home safe," he said. Other businesses did not open at all.

The owner of the Crimson Sports Grille decided to keep the bar closed for the day when "it looked bad Monday morning," said manager Matt Kline. "No one was going to be here except for local customers," he said. "The owner didn't want people going out and getting hurt."

At Sage's Market on Church Street, the owner decided to remain open despite the weather, said assistant manager Susan Etlinger. "We thought about closing but [the owner] said 'No way,'" she said.

Customer traffic was somewhat lighter due to the storm, Etlinger said, although the store "got more local people who didn't want to go very far in the storm."

Dunphy, commissioner of public works, said that Cambridge is currently in "great shape," but that the prospect of more snowfall in upcoming weeks is a concern.

"We've about reached our limit," Dunphy said. "If we get another foot on top of this, we start thinking about moving this snow to make room for the next storm." The city moves snow to sites in East and North Cambridge and has been studying dumping snow into the Charles River, he said