Two neighbors who decided a whole town could use a fourth.
The Old Town Mahjong Club in Alexandria, Virginia, is the work of two Old Town residents, Heather Johanson and Katherine May Schwartz. It began as a Mahjong 101 class at Boxwood, a shop in the neighborhood, then became a WhatsApp chat among the friends who took it. Now it is free open play at la Madeleine, at King and St. Asaph, with shared sets on the tables so nobody needs to own one to sit down.
Their stated goal, as Heather told The Zebra, is to build community and make Old Town feel like Cheers, where everyone knows your name. Experienced players, beginners and curious neighbors are all welcome, alone or with a foursome, and the one ask is that newcomers take the 101 class first. It plays the League card, and Prim loved that two neighbors noticed their town was missing not a game but a fourth chair.
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