Over the objections of a local developer, the Cambridge Historical Commission has recommended that two 19th-century buildings in the Square, including Grendel's Den Restaurant, be designated city landmarks, protecting them from demolition.

In its meeting last Thursday, the commission voted that Grendel's Den was "historically significant," and should thus be spared from the redevelopment plans of Eliot Square Enterprises.

Also affected by the designation is the Mt. Auburn Street building housing Tweeter etc., an electronics store.

But the commission denied historical status to buildings housing the Shilla Korean and Japanese Restaurant and the Holy Cross Armenian Church, setting the stage for their demolition.

In September, the city will have the final say on the designations.

A decision by the city in favor of landmark status would be well-received by the owners of the 101-year-old Grendel's, but frustrating for the employees of Tweeter etc., who hope to see a new building with underground parking replace their existing home.

For Grendel's owner Sue E. Kuelzer, the rich history of her eatery is what gives the restaurant its unique ambiance.

The now-defunct Pi Eta final club occupied the building before Grendel's opened in 1970, and the brass mailslot at the entrance still bears the name of the club, Kuelzer said.

And indeed, destruction seems unlikely for the antiquated, serene restaurant that has been feeding Harvard students for the past 25 years.

"Grendel's is safe--yeah, I'm pretty sure of that," Historical Commission President Charles Sullivan said.

Kuelzer certainly hopes so.

"We've been here for 25 years, and we hope to be here 25 more," Kuelzer said.

The employees in the Tweeter building, which is even older than Grendel's, do not revel in their building's past in the same way.

"You have no idea how old and decrepit this building is," said Assistant Manager Sheldon E. Cooperman. "It should have been torn down long ago."

Unlike the happily-backdated Grendel's, where even the light fixtures are the originals from 1970, the antiquated nature of the Tweeter etc. space causes problems, to the chagrin of both customers and employees.

The on-street storefront and hectic pace of traffic along Mt. Auburn Street forces customers who are loading merchandise into their cars to pull onto the sidewalk--where they are often ticketed by police.