By most measures, I should love Alchemy. The food is very nicely done pub fare and the taps are second to none. The space is cozy with hardwood floors and an elevated bar, and they often feature local music.
However, Alchemy doesn't appear to care about their customers very much. The main reason for this is that they are cash-only. To add insult to injury, they have installed a high-surcharge ATM inside the building. This tells me two things: their business practices may be unethical (I was told all their logs are "hand-written") and they care more about customers' money than their happiness. They deflect inquiries about cards by claiming that cash-only "keeps it local". No, what it actually means is that they are deliberately not leaving a tax trail. Unless you like carrying large bundles of cash around, this also makes Alchemy a poor choice for groups, which is too bad -- shouldn't they want our business? This is 2015. If you can't afford to take cards (ever hear of Square?), or an alternate payment method than cash, you can't afford to be in business.