Majnoon means “madman,” but not mad in the way we know it. He was mad with love. In Nizami’s 12th-century Persian epic Layli o Majnoon, he is a figure of eternal devotion — a young poet who wandered the desert, whispering the name of his beloved Layli. His love was pure, wild, and endless, a longing so deep it became a kind of sacred madness.
Majnoon is a place to get lost — and to be found. To fall in love with taste, with people, and with the stories we live and share.
The idea for Majnoon began in 2023, shaped by two lovers who brought together different lives and visions.
Taylor Nepon, is the driving force behind Majnoon’s bar program and its day-to-day heartbeat. A Pacific Northwest native and proud Oregon Duck, Taylor has spent the past decade hopping from program to program while helping open five concepts along the way. At Majnoon, Taylor has not only designed the cocktails — he has designed the bar itself. As the main operator, he built Majnoon’s bar to reflect his vision: a place where hospitality comes first and every detail supports that mission. His seasonally driven, internationally influenced cocktails are crafted from scratch, guided by story, and rooted in zero-waste practices. Known for his dealer’s choice prowess, Taylor turns the bar into a space of trust and discovery, where guests feel both cared for and surprised. For Taylor, bartending has always been about more than what’s in the glass — it’s about creating an atmosphere of connection, warmth, and belonging. Outside Majnoon, Taylor can be found running through Discovery Park, tossing back drinks with his friends, or planning the next country he wants to go get lost in.
Nakisa Dehpanah is a multidisciplinary designer and artist born in Iran and based in Seattle since 2018. With a background in architecture and over a decade of experience designing schools, cultural spaces, and community places, she has always seen design as more than function — as a medium for storytelling, connection, and care.
As the designer and conceptual creator of Majnoon, she shaped not only its architecture but its soul — the concept of a community space connected to the bar, where art, performance, and gathering coexist. Rooted in the Farsi literature and poetry she grew up with, Nakisa envisioned Majnoon as a modern retelling of the tale of Layli & Majnoon, where longing and love become collective, and everyone can belong. She designed every layer of Majnoon as a living artwork that evolves through the people and stories it holds, collaborating with artists across disciplines to transform the space into an ever-changing installation — a vessel for shared experiences.
Her artistic practice extends into performance and sculpture, where she explores themes of displacement, diaspora, and resilience.
She recently began serving as an Exhibits Designer at MOHAI, continuing her mission to shape environments that hold stories and invite people to live within them.
Majnoon means “madman,” but not mad in the way we know it. He was mad with love. In Nizami’s 12th-century Persian epic Layli o Majnoon, he is a figure of eternal devotion — a young poet who wandered the desert, whispering the name of his beloved Layli. His love was pure, wild, and endless, a longing so deep it became a kind of sacred madness.
Majnoon is a place to get lost — and to be found. To fall in love with taste, with people, and with the stories we live and share.
The idea for Majnoon began in 2023, shaped by two lovers who brought together different lives and visions.
Taylor Nepon, is the driving force behind Majnoon’s bar program and its day-to-day heartbeat. A Pacific Northwest native and proud Oregon Duck, Taylor has spent the past decade hopping from program to program while helping open five concepts along the way. At Majnoon, Taylor has not only designed the cocktails — he has designed the bar itself. As the main operator, he built Majnoon’s bar to reflect his vision: a place where hospitality comes first and every detail supports that mission. His seasonally driven, internationally influenced cocktails are crafted from scratch, guided by story, and rooted in zero-waste practices. Known for his dealer’s choice prowess, Taylor turns the bar into a space of trust and discovery, where guests feel both cared for and surprised. For Taylor, bartending has always been about more than what’s in the glass — it’s about creating an atmosphere of connection, warmth, and belonging. Outside Majnoon, Taylor can be found running through Discovery Park, tossing back drinks with his friends, or planning the next country he wants to go get lost in.
Nakisa Dehpanah is a multidisciplinary designer and artist born in Iran and based in Seattle since 2018. With a background in architecture and over a decade of experience designing schools, cultural spaces, and community places, she has always seen design as more than function — as a medium for storytelling, connection, and care.
As the designer and conceptual creator of Majnoon, she shaped not only its architecture but its soul — the concept of a community space connected to the bar, where art, performance, and gathering coexist. Rooted in the Farsi literature and poetry she grew up with, Nakisa envisioned Majnoon as a modern retelling of the tale of Layli & Majnoon, where longing and love become collective, and everyone can belong. She designed every layer of Majnoon as a living artwork that evolves through the people and stories it holds, collaborating with artists across disciplines to transform the space into an ever-changing installation — a vessel for shared experiences.
Her artistic practice extends into performance and sculpture, where she explores themes of displacement, diaspora, and resilience.
She recently began serving as an Exhibits Designer at MOHAI, continuing her mission to shape environments that hold stories and invite people to live within them.