Businesses around Harvard Square were gravely disappointed this weekend when the large Head of the Charles crowds they were anticipating failed to show.

A barrage of heavy winds and rain forced the cancellation of the regatta and kept potential customers at home.

As a result, restaurants and shops were forced to eat the huge outlays they had made in preparation for the event.

The Out of Town Newsstand in the Square sustained losses of $3,000 from the cancellation, said Jahangir Kabir, a sales clerk at the newsstand.

The losses stemmed from merchandise destroyed by the rain and today's slow sales.

Restaurants also suffered, struggling with empty tables and overstocked food.

Caxman Shrestha, owner of the Delhi Darbar, a Holyoke St. Indian restaurant, said his restaurant stocks up on extra edibles and beverages for a food stand along the Charles during each year's regatta.

This year, the restaurant will lose between $600 and $700, he said.

"We paid for a lot of extra food, but we could not sell it," he said. "Usually during Head of the Charles weekend the whole restaurant is full."

Sami's, a sandwich shop in the Holyoke Center arcade, had so few customers that it closed early.

"Usually, I'm up and working, but today, nothing. This whole place was just deserted," said an employee at the restaurant, who identified himself only as Nick.

The pubs and bars around the Square have had far fewer customers than expected as well.

Storefronts were decked with banners welcoming the regatta visitors. But rather than serving large crowds, the restaurants struggled just to keep their employees working.

John Harvard's Brew House "would be packed, except there's that monsoon outside," said Derek Guivens, an employee. "We were hoping for a full house, but Mother Nature is not going to cooperate with us. Maybe next time."

The wet weather also left many small retailers out to dry.

Ilana Rhodes, who runs a kiosk in the Holyoke Center arcade called Caribbean African Creations, said the weather drove customers away. She said here stand had almost no customers the entire day.

"Proprietors around here are so upset that many have gone home early," she said.

Sylvia Lopera of Women's and Men's Style, another kiosk in the arcade, bemoaned the torrential rains.

"I came here this weekend expecting big business because there are usually many, many people this time of year," she said. "But today there have not been.