Students returning to Oregon State University this week will find some new faces in the campus-area shopping district.

The newest among them will be McMenamins on Monroe, which opens today in the University Center at 2001 N.W. Monroe Ave.

The latest addition to the storied string of Northwest brewpubs started by OSU grads Brian and Mike McMenamin joins a healthy commercial mix on the increasingly bustling off-campus strip, with no more than three or four empty storefronts in the 10-block stretch between Cobblestone Square and The Beanery.

Like the other 50-plus McMenamins locations, McMenamins on Monroe offers a blend of the familiar and the unique.

The two-level pub seats about 160 and features an on-site brewery, pool and snooker tables, with sports on TV. On tap are Ruby Tuesday, Hammerhead and other McMenamins ales, brewed on site, as well as local offerings from Albany's Calapooia Brewing and Corvallis' own Oregon Trail Ales. And in addition to such McMenamins staples as the Captain Neon Burger, the bill of fare features pizza and calzones.

"We're trying to expand the menu here and get some cheap eats on it, too," said Brian McMenamin. "We want each (location) to be its own unique enterprise."

He expects the new pub to draw heavily from the campus community while the original Corvallis McMenamins on Northwest Third Street continues to attract more of a family clientele.

Two doors down in the same mixed-use center is another new arrival that might seem familiar: Urban Laundry.

Open since Aug. 1, the store is a reinvented version of Triple Crown, the former downtown clothing store owned by Cory and Jennifer Okie.

"It's got all the labels we carried at Triple Crown, plus a lot of designer stuff," said employee Suzy Points, who came to the new store from the old location. "We just changed our name when we opened."

Aimed squarely at the youth market, Urban Laundry features clothing and accessories for men and women. It also has a selection of longboards and skater-style apparel.

"We have anywhere from $20 T-shirts to designer denim and everything in between," Points said.

Urban Laundry's arrival should help fill the gap left by the closing of Galore Department Store, a Portland-based women's boutique that operated for about a year at University Center. Leasing manager John Malosh said he's trying to find another retail operation to take the space, the last remaining storefront in the two-year-old development.

Meanwhile, OSU's experiment with hosting an on-campus boutique has survived its first summer doldrums.

"It definitely slowed down," said Amanda Bensley, who manages the Buffalo Exchange in the basement of the Memorial Union.

The 800-square-foot men's and women's resale shop, which opened in February, is the first Corvallis location for the Arizona-based chain, which has more than 30 outlets in 11 states. While most are near college campuses, this is the first Buffalo Exchange that's actually on one.

Tucked away in a corner of the rec center, it can be hard to find, but Bensley said the word had gotten out before summer break dispersed the campus customer base, and now business is picking up where it left off.

"At the end of the school year, more and more kids were coming," she said. "The kids are coming back. Now it's busier than it was at the end of the year."

Also enjoying the students' return in its first fall run is Bottoms Up, a coffeehouse that opened in February in a converted Craftsman-style bungalow at 2305 N.W. Monroe Ave.

Brewing beans from Portland's Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Bottoms Up serves coffee and espresso drinks as well as teas, fresh-squeezed juices, energy drinks and wheatgrass shots.

Bagels, muffins and cookies are also on the menu, and you can even walk next door and work on your tan. The business shares space with Bare Naked Tanning. Both belong to the same owner.

The building was previously occupied by Holey Cow, a body piercing studio that has moved down the street to 1557 N.W. Monroe. The shuffle is part of an annual migration that sees some businesses disappear from the strip, making room for others to claw their way up the retail food chain.

Next door at 1555, for instance, Full Cycles has moved into a space that formerly housed a cellular phone service provider.

The custom cyclery shop moved in June 1, leaving its former location around the corner at 111 N.W. 16th St. That space was promptly filled by Bad Habits, the smoke shop that previously operated across the street - in another location formerly occupied by Full Cycles.

For Full Cycles, the latest move is definitely an upgrade. Not only is there three times more room for the repair shop and displays of bike frames, components and apparel, but the store is now right in the main flow of humanity up and down Monroe Avenue.

"It's a much, much better location," said manager Gary Schmid. "We've had a very positive response, a lot more walk-in traffic."

Bennett Hall is the business editor for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.