The Bow, equipped with three dart boards and a mini-basketball game, is popular among Harvard students and Cambridge locals. Manager Goodman says while Harvard graduate and undergraduate students make up a substantial portion of their business, more than 50 percent of the business is based elsewhere.

"We get a lot of college graduates from the area. We also have a pretty big working class population," he says.

Goodman acknowledges that the Grille is drawing Bow patrons, but denies the competition is hurting the Bow.

Another competitor for the college crowd is the bar on the second floor of the Hong Kong.

Affectionately called the "Kong" by Harvard students, the seedy-looking cocktail lounge draws college students from all over the country because of its famous scorpion bowls, says lounger manager Lilly E. Lee.

Packed on any given night, the Kong attracts customers by holding contests such as the 69 beer Club, in which names of patrons able to drink all 69 are placed on the wall.

The Kong also hosts a contest in which students design their own drinks. From all of the entries from any given college, the bar will select a winner to add to the menu as the official college drink.

But Harvard students get an added perk, 10 percent off drinks by presenting a College ID.

And the Kong plans to increase its drawing power with the addition of a third floor dance club which Lee says should open soon.

This may put the Kong in direct competition with the Spaghetti Club. Located behind Cafe Paradiso, the "Spag" offers the Square's only dance floor.

"What we offer is unique," says general manager Melissa L. Constantine. "Here you can go out and you don't have to a bunch of guys spitting on the floor."

On the weekends, the club enforces a dress code to maintain the club's character, Constantine says. But business from Harvard students appears slow lately.

Once the hot spot for Harvard undergraduates, the club is trying to woo back students by offering food specials. The Spag is also dropping its cover charge on Thursday night.

The Black Rose, the only bar in the Square to offer live music, will also faces competition from a blues bar expected to be opened soon.

Black Rose General Manager Mike L. Tallon says the new bar will bring it more business. "I welcome it," Tallon says. "It brings more people who enjoy live music to the Square."