Agreed. I was a telecommuter for two years and regularly worked from my local coffee shop for 2-3 hours a day, usually mid-morning or mid-afternoon when it wasn't terribly crowded. I spent around $150 a month on coffee, on average. Like you, I also brought friends regularly.
If my coffee shop had pulled something like this, they would have lost a regular, paying customer. I kind of resent the "hobo" label.
Pulled something like what? From the article, the actions taken include "limited access to wifi at peak lunch hours and turned it off on weekends" at one place and "instituted a half hour wifi policy between 11.30 and 1.30" in another cafe. How would either of these have bothered you, when it sounds like you are already working around those times as a self imposed restriction? It kind of sounds like you are self identifying with people who do things that you deliberately don't do, which is odd.
If my coffee shop had pulled something like this, they would have lost a regular, paying customer. I kind of resent the "hobo" label.