Roscoe Street's New Mahjong Studio Gives the North Side's Mahjong Craze a Room of Its Own

This November, mahjong showed up on the calendars of two addresses on the 2100 block of West Roscoe Street. On Thursday, Nov. 5, Roscoe Books at 2142 W. Roscoe hosted "Mahj with Meher," an evening with open play or a "101 learn to play" option from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Shoppers also got 10% off early holiday purchases. Two doors down at 2138 W. Roscoe, The Dapper Fox put its first beginner class on the calendar for Tuesday, Nov. 10. It's a mahjong studio and event space that shares its storefront with theworKshop design studio.

The bookstore night was a one-time event. The Dapper Fox runs every week. On the North Side, that difference matters. During this mahjong craze, most players have learned in rooms built for something else, like a brewery taproom, a wine shop or a bar. Roscoe Village now has a room on its main shopping street that was designed for mahjong and keeps a weekly schedule.

Most North Side Mahjong Has Been Played in Borrowed Rooms

Block Club Chicago's February 2026 feature on the mahjong boom reported that Eventbrite counted a 233% increase in Chicago mahjong event listings in 2024. Many of the places that story named are guest venues. Instructor Lori Ravis holds weekly group sessions at Cultivate by Forbidden Root, 4710 N. Ravenswood Ave. The Mahjong Society has played at Barcocina in Lakeview.

The pattern continued this fall. The Mahjong Society scheduled a Mahjong 101 at Dovetail Brewery, 1800 W. Belle Plaine Ave., for Wednesday, Nov. 18. It also scheduled open play with a wine tasting at BottlesUp!, 3164 N. Broadway, for Thursday, Nov. 19, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The North Side's main dedicated room has been in Lakeview. Cathy Lancaster, a textile designer and owner of Cathy Lancaster Gallery, opened Lily Pad Mahjong Parlor at 1254 W. Addison St. in 2024. Block Club reported that she first got into the game through its tiles and tables, after people asked her to make custom mahjong folding tables and mats.

The Mahjong Society's founder, Alyssa Gross, told Block Club why the game catches on here. "Chicago is a transplant city. Mahjong brings people together," she said. "So many of us work on our computers all day, and this provides a tactile sensation we are missing."

2138 W. Roscoe Was Designed Around the Game

The Dapper Fox was founded by Kaila Kirkpatrick, the interior designer behind theworKshop design studio. TheworKshop dates to 2009 and does residential, commercial and hospitality design. According to the studio's own account, Kirkpatrick has lived in Roscoe Village with her family for 25 years. Most of theworKshop's projects have been in this area and on the North Shore, and The Dapper Fox is presented as an extension of the design practice.

The design background shows in how the space describes itself. "Spaces are ultimately about the people and the memories you create in them," Kirkpatrick writes on the studio's site. The same page calls mahjong "the focus of our day-to-day programming." It also says the room is meant to work as a place that is "not a bar, and it's not a restaurant." Besides game tables, the page lists crafting, artist pop-ups, retail drops, showers, birthdays and speaking events with full AV. According to the studio's FAQ, it carries mahjong retail items and rotates goods from local makers.

The Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce listed the grand opening for Saturday, Nov. 14, from 3 to 8 p.m. The listing describes a remodeled storefront and showroom with instructional classes, private lessons, leagues and tournaments, and private-event bookings on weekdays and weekends. The studio's own calendar listed the party as free.

A Week at the Table on Roscoe

A pop-up night is easy to miss. The Dapper Fox posts its schedule on its events page, and November's calendar repeated the same rotation each week:

• Tuesday, 11 a.m.: Mahjong 101, beginner, $85
• Thursday, 11 a.m.: Mahjong 102, intermediate, $75
• Thursday, 7 p.m.: Mahjong 101, beginner, $85
• Friday, 11 a.m.: Mahjong 101, beginner, $85
• Sunday, 11 a.m.: Open Play, intermediate, $20
• Sunday, 3 p.m.: Guided Play, all levels, $45

Most of the beginner classes are in the morning, with one on Thursday evening. That evening class is the only Mahjong 101 slot after 5 p.m. in the November rotation. Leagues meet on Monday nights. The First Foxes League costs $85 for two Monday sessions from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and the current series is intermediate play with raffles and prizes.

According to the studio's FAQ, the classes are designed for complete beginners, while leagues require prior experience. Every visit requires a reservation, made online by choosing a date, time and event type. Class tickets include equipment and instructors, with no extra fees. For beginners, that means the first lesson needs no tile set.

What a Seat Costs Around the North Side

The weekly schedule is one difference from the borrowed rooms. Price is the other. A beginner class costs about the same everywhere. Open play for experienced players varies much more:

The two 101 classes on the list match at $85. Open play on Roscoe costs $20 on Sunday mornings, compared with $30 at Lily Pad and $55 for the wine-tasting night on Broadway. Lily Pad offers more open-play times. In November it listed Tuesday mornings from 10 to noon, Friday afternoons from 3 to 5, Sunday afternoons from 2 to 4 and some Saturday evenings from 5 to 7. Its page describes those sessions as social play with no instruction, for people who already know the game. Experienced players who live between Belmont and Addison now have a Sunday table in their own neighborhood and a weekday option a short trip east on Addison.

Other Places to Sit on Roscoe This Winter

The Dapper Fox describes itself as neither a bar nor a restaurant. The other recent addition to Roscoe Street offers a similar kind of place to stay a while. Eater Chicago reported that Dewey's Café opened at 2036 W. Roscoe St. on Sept. 2. Owners Riley Brown and Hannah Grossman started with coffee and a limited, plant-focused menu that they planned to grow over time. Brown told Eater the idea was "a place where people could hang out and escape all the craziness of the world." Dewey's and The Dapper Fox are a block and a half apart, so a Sunday Open Play at 11 a.m. and a coffee before or after fit into one walk on Roscoe.

The holiday calendar adds more over the next few weeks:

1. Lakeview Tree Lighting, Sunday, Nov. 22, 6 to 7:30 p.m. It takes place at Lincoln and Wellington, south of Roscoe Village. The chamber lists carolers, goody bags and a visit from the North Pole for the West Lakeview ceremony, held each year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
2. Roscoe Village Winterfest, Saturday, Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m. through Sunday, Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. Roscoe Village Neighbors posts details on its Winterfest page. The Dapper Fox's Sunday Open Play at 11 a.m. and Guided Play at 3 p.m. both fall inside Winterfest's Sunday hours if the studio keeps its weekly rotation.
3. Le Sud Holiday French Bistro Dinner, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 6 to 8:30 p.m. Le Sud, at 2301 W. Roscoe St., ends its 2026 French Bistro Classic Series with a four-course dinner paired with French wines. It costs $120 per guest plus tax, and the chamber listing notes limited seating and recommends reserving through Resy.

For anyone learning the game this winter, the Thursday 7 p.m. Mahjong 101 at 2138 W. Roscoe is the only evening beginner class on the studio's November schedule.

Neighborhood details like a new studio's weekly schedule are part of what we follow on the North Side. Whether you're settling in for the winter or thinking about your next move, Fogel Slate Group is happy to talk through Roscoe Village block by block. Schedule a consultation.