For 35 years, Gary Newmark has sold magazines at Nini’s Corner Newsstand. From his post looking over Harvard Square, he says he sees fewer people walk by with bags every year.

“Years ago there were a ton of people coming through...Harvard Square is not the place it used to be. It’s like a mall now. Lot of originality, nostalgia is gone,” he said earlier this month.

Indeed, this year, two landmark stores—the Grolier Poetry Book Shop and Brine’s Sporting Goods—announced they would close.

But unlike the past three years, which were mired by a recession, Harvard Square is on the upswing.

Eleven new businesses, ranging from flower shops to taquerias, have opened in the past year.

And many existing businesses reported steady sales and, by spring, a resurgence in foot traffic.

“Over the past 12, 18 months you see a slow increase,” said John P. DiGiovanni, the president of Trinity Property Management who this spring launched a successful campaign to extend the hours of three eateries in the Garage. “It’s picking up a bit.”

MOVING IN

Across from Nini’s Corner, Cross, the 158-year-old pen company, launched its first ever stand-alone shop five weeks ago. The store was so popular on its first day of business—1,500 visited—that it stayed open an extra half hour.

Cross Assistant Manager Emily Dryden said that since the grand opening, business at the paper products and pen store had been “great.”

“We sell more pens than anybody else who sells Cross pens,” she said.

And as Cross moved in, some other businesses returned home.

Adidas opened an Adidas Originals store in the location it had vacated in 2000 at the corner of Plympton Street and Mass. Ave.

Tony Ferranti, the owner of the Ferranti-Dege camera shop on Mass. Ave, said the new Adidas had helped all of the stores on Mass. Ave.

“Nothing will cripple a block [more] than having an empty store,” he said.