You know, when this place first opened (and I was there like, a half hour after they flung the doors open on their first day...) I was a total Alterra evangelist. The coffee was good, the internet free and blazing fast, the staff friendly and upbeat; in short, much of what you'd like in a cafe that charges more than the average for their food and caffeine. \n\nBut then the sheen started to wear off, and quick! I don't want to sandwich this review with the things I like, somethings needing improvement, and then ending with a pretty little bow saying something like, \"but I still love this place!\" Read down, and you'll find plenty of that. \n\n1) Their hours. What? Why, in a city like Madison, and in such a central location, does Alterra close at 9:00? Why is it so much to ask for a cafe to stay open until like, 11:00? I know Barriques closes at 11 on Thursdays-Saturdays, but for some of us, we're just hitting our stride at 7:45PM, leaving us with less than 2 hours of good stride time. C'mon folks, let's keep some big-kid hours. \n\n2) The music is really really terrible. I mean, atrociously terrible. It's like your high school's collective mix CD's were dumped into a CD player and thrown on shuffle, and even features the irregular volume levels inherent in all those purloined tracks! In addition to being a total crapshoot of what kind of aural assault you're going to get, it's loud as all get out. On numerous occasions, I've gone up to the counter to ask them, like your dad always did to you, to turn it down. It's gotten to the point where, upon my approach, an employee will say: \"Is it too loud? Should I turn it down?\" Yes. Yes it is too loud, and it takes over my noise-canceling headphones. And if you already know what I'm going to ask, that means you already know it's too loud. Just turn it down so conversations don't need to rise to scream-talking. \n\n3) Boy oh boy has the staff gotten surly. If you read my account of Johnson Public House, you'll know that I don't mind a bit of hipster-barista surliness with my coffee. It's par for the course... in *some* cafes. This is not the cafe. This is the bougie, over-priced, grown adult cafe. I'm paying more for my coffee than I would otherwise, and I expect the attitude to be dialed back. Granted, Alterra's management could be a right bear to work for, and may engender a surly staff, who knows? But if that's the case: ALTERRA MANAGEMENT: stop treating your employees poorly. They're unfriendly, and that makes me not want to come here. If it's just because they're bad at hiring people, and their staff thinks they're hot stuff 'cause they work at Alterra, then give me a break. \n\n4) On the employee tip, those bathrooms, single stall each, sure do get gnarly after a while. During the workaday week, there are typically lines out the door (I don't even want to know about what happens during the farmer's market... I avoid the square at all costs unless, you know, I'm at the market,) and that means that precious bathroom real estate (which often has lines rivaling the counter's,) gets trashed. Instead of standing around navel-gazing, it might be a good idea to check the bathrooms now and then. And maybe clean up after the circus has packed up and left? But instead, I see staff wandering about, seemingly aimlessly, all the while the bathrooms go untouched (making me not to want to touch them). And restock the creamer station while you're at it (and after changing gloves and scrubbing your paws, please.) I can't believe how many times I've gone over to get a straw or napkin and found the remains of what once was a supply bar. \n\nAnyway, there's my beef. I know we can't have everything all the time, but some things are easier had than others. And I think these are some low, low-hanging fruit.