In quirky Harvard Square, where small, family-owned operations vie for business with larger chains, no two stores are exactly alike.

But some come awfully close.

Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks Coffee, Bob Slate Stationers and CVS each have two locations in Harvard Square, and Gnomon Copy has three.

Some store owners say the only thing separating their two stores is a couple of blocks.

Others have found that within the confines of Harvard Square, unique demographics exist, and have composed their stores' selections to reflect that.

Makin' Copies

Despite their similar facades, the three locations of Gnomon Copy in the Square are not in any way connected.

Because the stores are individually franchised, which means each one is under different ownership, each location has developed its own style, customers and specialties.

Jim Petroni, owner of the Gnomon at 1304 Mass. Ave. across from Widener Gate, says it's mainly his location that differentiates him from his competitors.

"Basically we all do the same thing," he says.

But Connie Welch, co-owner of the Gnomon down the street at 1218 Mass. Ave., disagrees.

She says the layout and organization of her store, coupled with her lower prices, have allowed her to remain competitive despite her somewhat unfortunate location--close enough to Petroni's store that their client base overlaps, but a little too far from the center of campus.

Welch charges just four cents per copy for self-service copies, compared to five cents per copy at Petroni's store. The third Gnomon location, at 99 Mt. Auburn St., has no self-service machines but charges 5 cents per copy for full service copying.

But the layout of her store's reception room is what really makes Welch proud.

The production room of her store is separate and completely hidden from view, unlike at the other Gnomon branches.

"Customers are able to feel more at ease when they walk in the door, because they're not interrupting an operator doing a large job," she explains.

The small sign taped to the back wall provides an indication of how Welch's employees feel about the store.

Childish handwriting in black marker on a sheet of pink copy paper proclaims: "Gnomon Copy is the best + number ONE." Smiley faces adorn all the o's, and a large heart is drawn in the margin.

Welch emphasizes providing a good environment for her workers.

"We treat our employees with respect," she says. "We're always happy and in a good mood."

And, she says, the results are obvious.

"In a copy center, you usually have a high turnover of employees," Welch says. "Most of our staff has been with us five years or longer."

Employee satisfaction, Welch says, translates to customer satisfaction.

"Customers know that when they walk in the door, there will be somebody there who will recognize them and they know they can leave their document and they will get it back," she says.

Hence, Welch has aimed for a customer-friendly environment, right down to the purple candy jar on the counter bearing the words, "Gnomon Copy; Thank You."

For Norman Shapiro, owner of the Gnomon at 99 Mt. Auburn St., the services he provides are what differentiates his store and gives it the competitive edge.

"We have the largest amount of high-speed equipment [of the three Gnomons in the Square]," Shapiro says.

Shapiro's is also the only one of the three to offer computers for customer use.

He says customers on the west side of JFK Street go to him for convenience's sake, but adds that because they require his special equipment, commercial accounts and university departments also help bring in profits.

"We've expanded four times in the past ten years," Shapiro says.

Not Just Donuts Anymore

The two locations of Dunkin' Donuts at 1230 Mass. Ave. and 65 JFK St. are also independent franchises, not affiliated in any way other than name.

The stores have donuts in common, but that's about all.

The Mass. Ave. store, which also offers Baskin-Robbins ice cream, is located across the street from the Yard and near Adams House. It stands on a path of heavy foot traffic and attracts many take-out customers, including the Sunday post-church crowd.

The JFK Street location is better known as the Eliot Street Caf. Its interior features polished wood and green granite tabletops. With tables also outside on a patio, the store offers seats for a total of 60 customers at any one time. The store is a little more out of the way for shoppers and undergraduates, but is convenient for Kennedy School students.

Operators of both franchises credit their different menus with helping to create a niche and increase their customer base.

Stephen Latzanakis, franchise operator for the Mass. Ave. store, says many customers will buy from both the ice cream and the donut selections.

"The two brands do compliment each other," he says. "There are definitely people who buy coffee and ice cream or a sundae and a donut."

But some don't stop there, Latzanakis says.

"Sometimes they'll even buy a sundae and a donut and coffee," he adds.

And even those who intend to come in for just a morning coffee may leave with a different idea.

"We do have a lot of nice frozen dessert products that could excite someone coming in for coffee," Latzanakis says. "Customers will say, 'Look at that flavor--I could get my afternoon snack here too.'"

The JFK Street store also offers a range of products.

Instead of ice cream, it carries a line of hot and cold deli sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches and fresh fruit, as well as espresso and cappuccino.

Duarte "Duke" Carvalho, franchise operator for the store, says these items sell very well, though they can't compete with the standard cup of coffee and donut.

Carvalho charges $1 for a small coffee and 57 cents per donut, and does not differentiate between regular and specialty donuts.

Latzanakis, on the other hand, charges 70 cents for most donuts, 99 cents for fancier donuts like eclairs, and $1.10 for a small coffee.

A renovation planned for this fall may help to close the gap between Latzanakis' and Carvalho's stores as far as environment and appearance go.

The newly remodeled Mass. Ave. store will include seating counters, more tables and new floors, as well as a new layout arrangement, according to Latzanakis.

"The whole look will be a lot more customer-oriented and less confusing," he says. "The customer will know immediately where to go for products," as opposed to the current layout, with separate registers for donuts and ice cream.

Latzanakis is quite hopeful that the changes will pay off.

"Sales have increased dramatically in [Dunkin' Donuts] stores with the new layout," he says.

Carvalho says he also plans some minor improvements for his recently renovated store.

The installation of a new air- conditioning system was completed this past weekend.

And then, of course, there's always the Matt Damon factor for the Mass Ave store.

Latzanakis says his store saw a "tremendous increase" in business after the release of Good Will Hunting, which featured his Dunkin' Donuts.

The store will hold a grand reopening in the fall to announce its new look. Latzanakis says he hopes to invite Damon to the event.

He says he intends to save the famous piece of glass from the front window, and if possible to have Damon trace his hand on the glass and autograph it.

New Kid on the Block

While Latzanakis' Dunkin' Donuts has been in the same location for 13 years, just a few years ago a new player entered the Harvard Square coffee scene.

Three years ago, Starbucks Coffee opened a store in the Garage; soon after, it opened a second location on Church Street.

Starbucks stores are held to uniform pricing, so customers won't find the same discrepancy in the cost of a cup of coffee here that they could at Dunkin' Donuts.

They will, however, find at each Starbucks a different environment and a different set of coffee drinkers.

Students studying for exams often hole up at JFK Street, while Church Street tends to attract more teaching fellows.

"Within Harvard Square, there are still different neighborhoods and pockets," Starbucks' New England regional marketing manager Donna Peterson explains.

"The Church Street store tends to be more of a commuter store," Peterson says, "while the JFK Street one is more of a respite."

The JFK Street location provides a variety of tables, counter seats and plush armchairs, as well as a shelf full of books for patrons to browse through.

The Church Street store, on the other hand, has just tables.

"What we really enjoy doing is picking up on the local flavor," Peterson says.

For example, the red brick so prevalent in Harvard Square has been left exposed at the Church Street store. And the Garage store sponsored a mural contest for local artists, challenging them to "Capture the Spirit of Harvard Square." The winning mural will hang in the store, and is slated for unveiling in June.

Peterson says plans for "capturing the spirit" also include inviting local musicians to play live in the JFK Street store--another hallmark of Harvard Square.

But why does the Square need two Starbucks so close to one another?

"It's based on walking patterns," Peterson explains. "It's a business of convenience, and we wanted to be as convenient to our customers as possible."

An Addition to the Family

For Bob Slate Stationers, the decision to open a second location in Harvard Square had little to do with different customer bases or convenience, though those factors did help the second location thrive.

Owner Mallory Slate says the two stores are "carbon copies," and convenience is "absolutely" the only factor that would lead a consumer to choose one store over the other.

Slate explains that the Church Street store, which first opened in 1975 and moved to its current location in 1991, was necessary because the original store, at 1288 Mass. Ave., had run out of space.

"We were maxed out," he says.

Though the stores have few major variations, the difference is in the details.

For example, just inside the door of the Church Street store is a large display of hand-painted wooden boxes in bright colors--a display absent from the Mass. Ave. store.

Slate explains that because the two stores have different merchandising managers, they might carry some different products, but the bulk of the products and the basic lines of products carried are uniform.

"Like people, the stores have personality," he says.

As with Starbucks, the different neighborhoods within the Square have helped to shape this personality.

Slate says the Mass. Ave. store is busiest in September and January with the spiral-bound notebook business.

The Church Street location, he says, experiences a larger rush around the holiday season, drawing the gift-shopping Crate & Barrel crowd.

And apparently this crowd was lying in wait for Slate's goods.

"When we opened the second store, we doubled our business right away," Slate says.

In general, though, he says the stores see equal amounts of business.

CVS vs. CVS

But perhaps the most prominent example of a double location is CVS. The two stores are separated by barely a block. A customer can stand at the door of one CVS and see the other.

The Mass. Ave. store near Bank Boston and C'est Bon has a pharmacy in the back of the store. In the store on JFK Street, past Urban Outfitters, that space is filled with greeting cards.

Customers walking into the Mass. Ave. store face the seasonal aisle, with a generous selection of sunblock, picnic ware, bug repellent and jelly sandals.

The path of entry at the JFK Street store takes customers directly into the candy and chips aisle.

The Mass. Ave. CVS provides bins containing four different kinds of umbrellas and two varieties of Twizzlers as they wait to check out. These bins, regular fixtures of the Mass. Ave. store, are absent at the other location.

But there is no grand marketing scheme behind all this. Turns out it's part accident and part convenience.

Ideally, says Todd Andrews, a corporate relations spokesperson for the company, stores are laid out like the Mass. Ave. branch, tempting customers with seasonal products as they enter.

Andrews says the JFK Street store's layout is probably due to its age. "With some of the older stores, we do get unusual configurations," he says.

He admits that the proximity of the two stores is "an unusual situation," but says it also makes sense because drugstores carry products people need at a moment's notice.

"When it comes to drugstores, people like them really close [to them]," he says.

Business at the JFK Street store, which Andrews estimates is one-half the size of the other store, totals to only one-third of the other store's business, according to Andrews.

Because the Mass. Ave. store is larger, it can support the pharmacy, Andrews says.

But for features like an expanded greeting card section, a photo developing counter and more convenience food items, customers will have to trek to the CVS down the road at 1013 Mass. Ave., toward Central Square.

"The larger the store, the more the variety," he explains.

The bins of umbrellas and Twizzlers, Andrews says, are the result of the decisions of individual store managers.

Like other Square store managers, they cater to their customers.

"The managers have a great deal of discretion," he says. 'They know what moves in the store and they can highlight that."