After hosting popular pop-ups, the business partners launch their sold-out mahjong league this month
Holy Mahj founders Anne Ruder and Caroline Riley at The Charleston Place
While playdates between their children brought Anne Ruder and Caroline Riley together as friends, it was a mutual love of mahjong that sparked a new business idea.
The pair learned to play the tile-based strategy game in November 2022. After forming a small group that met once a week, they started teaching friends of friends and expanded, hosting an inaugural event at the Post House. “The business started and grew very organically through the relationships with the people we teach and the partnerships we’ve created,” Ruder says.
Holy Mahj established itself through pop-ups at local venues, building a vibrant, welcoming brand with curated music playlists, pretty tablescapes, and eye-catching tiles from Dallas-based company The Mahjong Line. “We want people to be able to look at a table and say, ‘Oh, that’s Holy Mahj!’” Riley explains.
Their latest endeavor is The Tuesday Club, a 12-week team league hosted at The Rutledge Room, which starts this month. Additionally, Holy Mahj hosts private, in-home events ranging from birthday parties to baby showers and will continue to offer pop-ups across town.
In the future, Riley and Ruder plan to create their own product line and have started hiring teachers in other parts of the country to expand the business beyond the Lowcountry. “We try to cater to what the community wants,” says Ruder. “The most rewarding part of our job is seeing these relationships form.”
