On several occasions, the store has felt compelled to appease angry customers by deducting the cost of the ticket from the purchase price.

Poor access to the store is such a problem that even Tweeter's stock truck must park on the sidewalk to unload.

It has also been ticketed.

Then there is the store's more awkward problem: rats.

"You're showing off the surround sound system, and there's surround sound when the system is not even on!" one employee quipped.

Steps have been taken to better seal the store, but, Cooperman said, "a brand-new brick building with a new foundation doesn't allow [rats] entry."

Eliot Square's proposal to build a new, four-story, 58,000 square-foot commercial space with underground parking would alleviate many of Tweeter's problems, employees said.

But there are groups who feel strongly that tearing down these old structures, rat-infested or not, would be an immense loss to the community.

Sullivan said the Tweeter building, built in 1869, is historically significant because of its rare wood frame design.

Sullivan pointed to a trend since the 1960s of consolidating smaller lots into single large units. He said this process has stripped the Square of a good deal of architectural diversity and aesthetic appeal.

Escalating rent prices exacerbate the trend, Sullivan said, by crowding out small businesses in favor of wealthy national chains looking for large spaces to develop. He cited the recently-built HMV complex as an example.

The commission has been working closely with Eliot Square Enterprises to forge a compromise allowing for modernization while preserving the integrity of the park and its environs, Sullivan said.

The plans have been revised five times, according to Sullivan, with the exclusion of Grendel's from the development coming early and that of the Tweeter building only after bitter debate.

The owners of Tweeter may also consider moving the building adjacent to Grendel's