GLENDALE — Mahjongg fever is real, and it now has a dedicated home in the Milwaukee area.
Four Winds Lounge is the first mahjongg shop in the region offering players a place to buy mahjongg sets, take lessons from experienced players, and a space to play with friends. It opened Nov. 1 inside Bayshore Mall in Glendale. The Chinese tile-based tabletop game has become more and more popular across the country in the past decade.
"I love this vibe. I mean, you can hear it. There's a lot going on, and it's enjoyable," Kathleen Johns said about Four Winds Lounge which was packed with people when we spoke.
The shop is exactly what players like Johns were looking for.
"You know, we host at each of our homes. We also meet at coffee shops, but sometimes you don't want to prepare your home. And to be able to drop in and meet others, whether you know them or you meet somebody new, which is always fun, this provides a sense of community," Johns said.
Four Winds Lounge was opened by a trio of friends who all share a love for mahjongg. Co-owner Amy Lukas said the lounge fills a gap that already exists in other parts of the country.
"You can go to Chicago and find shops like this. You can go to Florida. You can go to St. Louis. I mean, really, it's a nationwide movement. We deserve a nice place like this," Lukas said.
Lukas and her friend and co-owner Kitty Gaenslen have played mahjongg for more than a decade. During that time, they slowly started to teach people how to play. In the last 18 months, they taught nearly 400 people.
Watch the video below to see more of what it looks like inside Four Winds Lounge...
"Because we were doing a lot of it on a very small scale, local boutiques, pop-up shops, and we found the interest was greater than the inventory we could handle in our own homes. It's a lot easier to have people come here and play," Lukas said.
The demand from players drove the decision to open a permanent space.
"Do you have a place that we can come in and see what you sell? Do you have a place where we can get together? Do you have a store? And they have really driven it for us," Gaenslen said.
A mahjongg-specific lounge may sound niche, but it fits a broader trend of spaces built around a single shared activity. There's a Magic: The Gathering shop in St. Francis and padel courts in Milwaukee. Four Winds Lounge is all about community, bringing together people who love mahjongg so they can play together.
Lessons are $185, which gets you four two-hour lessons. Open play is $20 per person for two hours. Four Winds Lounge is open from Wednesday to Saturday and by appointment Sunday to Tuesday. For more info go to this website.
This story was reported by James Groh and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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