A learn, play and shop Mahjong studio opens on Philadelphia's Main Line

Main Line Mahjong has opened a studio at the Eagle Village Shops in Wayne, Pennsylvania, in the space that once held the Grey Colt boutique, near Nic + Zoe, according to SAVVY Main Line. Writing on April 22, 2026, the magazine called it the area's first studio dedicated to the game. It is a place to take lessons, a place to play, and a place to shop, all in one room.

The studio belongs to Suzett Hamilton, Karla Crockett and Megan Boss, three friends SAVVY described as part-time instructors with a full-time love of the game. Their own site says the business is rooted in a sense of belonging, and everything about how they got here bears that out.

From living rooms to a storefront

Before there was a storefront, the three taught in private homes and, over the winter, at InTown Golf in Radnor, SAVVY reported. A four-week teaching series there drew 17 players in February. It grew into the Main Line Mahjong League, which the magazine put at about 200 members by late April. The owners told SAVVY the response over three months had been overwhelming.

Hamilton told the magazine that a retail space was something the three had talked about for a long time, and that it arrived faster than they expected. According to the studio's site, Hamilton was born and raised on the Main Line and began teaching friends in 2024. Boss grew up in the Philadelphia area and works as an interior designer, and SAVVY noted that she took the lead on decorating. Crockett moved to the Main Line in 2024 after learning to play in Virginia.

“We wanted to create a community that brings people together to learn and play the game.”Karla Crockett, co-owner, to SAVVY Main Line

Six tables and three cabanas

The room has space for six tables, according to SAVVY, and three of them sit in semi-private cabanas. There is a coffee station and a merchandise corner, and guests are encouraged to bring their own drinks. The studio's site describes it as a home for group classes, open play, league nights and private events, with sets and accessories on the shelves.

In April the class list ran from Mahj 101 and Mahj 102 for newer players to a 2026 Card Strategy session for seasoned ones, per SAVVY. The magazine gave prices of $65 to $75 for individual and group lessons, private tables from $18.75 a person, and league nights or open play from $15.

For a reader who wants a seat, the path is simple. SAVVY sent readers to the studio's website for the weekly schedule, and as of this writing that site lists studio classes, lesson booking and the league, each with its own page.

A whole neighborhood at the table

The studio did not open into a quiet scene. The same SAVVY report found that Main Line School Night, the adult education nonprofit, had launched a Mahjong Club that sold out in record time, and that it hoped to hold its first annual Mahjong tournament in 2027. In Wayne, the restaurant Maison Lotus hosts monthly Mahjong Nights, $95 for instruction from a certified teacher and a three-course buffet, and the magazine listed Wednesday, June 17, and Wednesday, July 22, among the dates. Louella Boutique, also in Wayne, holds classes among its clothing racks.

The article also reminded readers that the game's roots in China run back nearly two centuries. On the Main Line, as in so many towns, the American game is now finding new rooms of its own.

Order of the Tile is not affiliated with Main Line Mahjong and does not sell tables, lessons or sets.

Prim's view

A year ago the surge was a headline. On the Main Line it is a sign over a door, and every door like it starts with someone willing to teach. These three taught first, in living rooms and in a February series of 17 players, and only then opened a storefront. That is the right order, and I suspect it is why the league grew so fast.

I also confess a weakness for anyone who looks at a retail space and thinks, cabanas. A semi-private corner is exactly what a nervous new player needs on her second lesson, when she is brave enough to play and not yet brave enough to be watched. Add a coffee station and a bring-your-own-bottle policy, and you have covered both ends of the evening. I hope every one of those six tables stays loud, and that the shelf of sets needs restocking often.