I used to love Smelly Cat because their coffee was excellent and their baristas were really awesome and knew all sorts of things about coffee that I couldn't even begin to understand yet still found fascinating (possibly due to excessive caffeine levels making everything super exciting).
Their coffee is still good and their baristas are still wonderful, but lately, they have been enforcing more and more policies about their bathroom and parking situations that just make them seem less welcoming. Having to go back out into the rain to put my signed time-stamped receipt on my dashboard so that I'm allowed to keep my car there for two hours is not okay. I understand the bathroom code because according to one of their baristas, some not-okay activities were happening in there, and I even understand having to ask for the wi-fi, but it's borderline rude to make customers feel like they have to validate their presence in your establishment. Sure, parking is tight but it's NoDa and parking is an issue everywhere-that's the nature of the beast.
Anyways, they have good coffee, but I'm a little disappointed in their new customer policies. It's less annoying to just go to Amalie's and put up with the ridiculous weekend crowds.