"You have to say to yourself, this really doesn't amount to a whole lot," Laibson says. "One shouldn't expect a 10 percent decline to amount to a big transformation in the economic activity in the Square."

Eating Out

But at Sandrine's Bistro, a five-year-old restaurant where the decor is tasteful and dinner entrees go for about $30, waitor Evyn Riehl says she blames the establishment's disappointing season on the stock market.

"People are just more aware and more conscious of how they're spending their money," she says. "They'll go somewhere where the prices are lower rather than coming here. There seems to be more of an effort to save money in areas where people used to be frivolous."

She points to the reservation book.

"This is supposed to be our most prosperous time of the year," Riehl says. "We should be slammed every night and we're not even full."

This year's sales were supposed to be record-breaking, she says, but the restaurant hasn't even matched the sales from last year.

"I wouldn't say that we're struggling, but there has been a decline," Riehl says.