The Queen’s Mahjery, a mahjong studio from three Charlotte moms, opens Thursday in Oakhurst Commons

The Queen’s Mahjery, a mahjong studio started by three Charlotte mothers, opens on Thursday, October 1, in Suite 110 at Oakhurst Commons, 4000 Monroe Road, according to the studio’s website. Axios Charlotte toured the space on September 25 and reported that it holds up to 17 mahjong tables across three rooms, with memberships at $295 a month.

The opening comes a few months later than first planned. When Axios first reported the project in February, the founders were aiming for summer.

The details at a glance

The studio’s website and the Axios preview together cover most of what a first-time visitor needs to know:

• The address is 4000 Monroe Road, Suite 110, in Oakhurst Commons near the corner of Monroe and Wendover roads.
• Opening day is Thursday, October 1.
• Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. The studio is closed Wednesdays.
• A single seat reservation is $40 and a full table is $150, Axios reported.
• A monthly membership is $295 and covers up to three guests per booking.

Mahjong sets, mats, racks, tiles and cards are provided, so nobody has to bring anything, according to Axios. Booking runs through the studio’s website, and members are promised a table whenever they want one, while drop-in players reserve online, Axios reported.

How three moms ended up opening a studio

Lauren Ulrey, Jennifer Ross and Patti Roth met because their daughters took gymnastics at a studio on Monroe Road, Axios reported in February. The three started playing mahjong together in a room Ulrey had set aside for the game in her home. Ross later visited a mahjong studio in Dallas while traveling, came home with the idea, and the three decided Charlotte needed one of its own. Ulrey told Axios that finding a place to play had been hard.

When the project was announced in February, Axios called The Queen’s Mahjery the city’s first brick-and-mortar mahjong studio. Another group opened sooner. Heron House Mahjong held a soft opening on June 10 in a 1925 house on East Boulevard in Dilworth, with drop-in play at $25, lessons at $75 and memberships from $149 a month, Axios reported. That makes The Queen’s Mahjery at least the second studio in Charlotte built around the game.

What is inside

The space is a bit under 2,400 square feet split into three rooms, and it can hold about 94 people for events that are not mahjong, Axios reported. The look is what the outlet called playful industrial, with murals by local artist Meredith Riggins. A retail corner sells mahjong sets for people who want to play at home.

Food and drink stay simple. The studio does not cook on site; the founders said in February that they planned drinks and snacks instead of a kitchen. Coffee and nonalcoholic drinks are free, and wine, beer and seltzer are for sale. Charcuterie boards come from Babe & Butcher, the charcuterie shop at Park Road Shopping Center, according to Axios.

The founders also plan private events. Axios listed baby showers and puzzle-building nights among the gatherings the rooms can host, and about 12 outdoor seats are planned for later this fall, first come, first served, with no reservation needed.

Where the studio sits

Oakhurst Commons is a redevelopment of a former office and lab building at Monroe and Wendover roads in Oakhurst, about 135,000 square feet in all, according to The Mecklenburg Times. The retail side was fully leased by May, the Times reported, with a fitness club, a fast-casual Greek restaurant, a physical therapy practice, a massage studio, a 24-hour coworking club and a brunch restaurant sharing the center with the mahjong studio. Offices fill the upper floors.

Charles Thrift, a partner at the firm leasing the center’s retail space, told the Times in May the center was proud to welcome two first-to-market concepts, the mahjong studio among them. Axios noted the center has plenty of parking.

Before you go

Practical details from the studio’s website and the Axios preview:

• Reserve ahead through the studio’s website. Seats and tables are booked, and members get priority.
• Skip Wednesday, when the studio is closed.
• Bring friends if you want a full table. A table seats four, and a $150 table booking can work out cheaper per person than four single seats.
• Ask about private events when you book. The three rooms can be reserved for groups, and Axios listed baby showers among the gatherings they can host.

How the two studios compare

Charlotte players now have two studios to choose from, and the published details differ. Based on the Axios reports on each:

• The Queen’s Mahjery charges $40 for a seat, $150 for a table and $295 a month for a membership that covers up to three guests per booking.
• Heron House Mahjong charges $25 for drop-in play, and memberships start at $149 a month.
• Heron House teaches lessons, which the studio calls Flight School, at $75 each. Neither the Mahjery’s website nor the Axios preview mentions lessons.
• The Mahjery has room for up to 17 tables in about 2,400 square feet on Monroe Road. Heron House opened with 52 seats in a 3,000-square-foot house on East Boulevard.
• The Mahjery is closed Wednesdays. Heron House is closed Mondays, according to the studio’s website.

What happens next

The Queen’s Mahjery went from announcement to opening day in about eight months. The timeline, from Axios, The Mecklenburg Times and the studio’s website:

• February 3: Axios reports the plan and a summer target.
• May: The Mecklenburg Times reports the retail space at Oakhurst Commons is fully leased.
• September 25: Axios tours the finished space.
• October 1: Opening day, with booking and a founding membership offered through the studio’s website.
• Later this fall: Outdoor seating is added.

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