No matter how much students and their defenders may gripe, it's the dollar that makes the decision.

"People might think the landlord chooses, but ultimately the consumer decides," DiGiovanni says.

And with the demise of rent control, the Harvard Square consumer needs a whole new type of store.

Sudholz describes today's Square shoppers--students included--as "a very international crowd, very affluent, very well-traveled, fairly well-educated, and the median income is a little higher than the national."

Jen Johnson says Harnett's is successful precisely because her store caters to this type of consumer--someone who has more money than she needs for basic living expenses.

Even the student base is more upscale than the stereotypical college area, making it possible for more upscale stores to bring in that customer traffic as well.

The Jasmine-Sola boutique on Brattle Street has recently begun catering more to its student shoppers by carrying clothing for juniors.

Gwen Trost, co-owner of the upscale Sandrine's Bistro on Holyoke Street, serves up some of the pricier entres in the Square, charging between $18 and $29 a plate for dinner.

Even so, Trost says a sizable portion--15 percent--of her business comes from the student population.

She says if the Square's business balance differs from that of other college neighborhoods, with McDonald's and 24-hour diners conspicuously absent, this difference only matches the uniqueness of Harvard's location and student population.

Working the Crowd

Both DiGiovanni and Sudholz stress that the key to success in the Square is knowing--and working--your niche.

Though businesses may try to chalk their failure up to gentrification or bad location, others say that like everywhere else you have to present something unique to be successful in the Square.

"We have businesses that break all the retail rules," she adds.

She cites the flourishing Upstairs at the Pudding restaurant on Holyoke Street, which has no street-level signage and occupies a third-floor walk-up--"retial suicide," Sudholz says.