Maynard James Keenan of Tool has opened a new sushi restaurant

The frontman of Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer, Maynard James Keenan, has expanded his Cottonwood, Arizona, business empire, as per theprp. Because of his passion for sushi, Keenan has been travelling with a pair of chopsticks in his pocket for about 25 years. Now, he and his wife Jennifer are opening their own sushi restaurant, Queen B Sushi. In Cottonwood, Arizona, Maynard and his spouse previously opened the Queen B Vinyl Café, a record store and performance venue. In addition, he and his spouse have been active in his long-standing winemaking endeavours in the region, which include the Verde Valley Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy, a wine bar, a barbershop, a ramen place and a coffee roaster.

Although I’ve been enjoying sushi since my days in Boston, circa 1987, my first Japanese tour wasn’t until 2000 with A Perfect Circle. It was an eye opening and mind-blowing experience. While there, I picked up these amazing titanium and hard wood travel chopsticks from Snow Peak. And I’ve carried them with me ever since. Last year I ran into Janeane Garofalo at the Chelsea in NYC. She was saying to David Crossand Dave Hill, ‘I haven’t seen Maynard in several years but one thing I remember is that he used to carry chopsticks in his pocket.’ At which point I reached into my pocket and pulled them out. Twenty-five years I’ve been carrying these chopsticks. That’s how much I love sushi.

Queen B Sushi is led by Culinary Director Chef Brett Vibber, whose résumé spans Roka Akor’s London, Hong Kong, and U.S. locations. Vibber built the Queen B Sushi team around two hires: Chef Chuhiro “Thomas” Kato, who trained under Nobu Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills and Masaharu Morimoto in New York, and Chef Sheridan “Sher” Chase, an Arizona native who built his career in kitchens from California to Texas before returning home.

The concept began almost by accident. When Keenan and his wife, Jennifer, were developing the menu for Queen B Vinyl Café, they shelved the idea of a full sushi program, assuming they wouldn’t find the right chef in a town of 12,000. Vibber, already on staff, turned out to be exactly that chef.

Queen B Sushi will pour a rotating selection of Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards wines.

If you want to dine there, you can place your reservation via Toast.

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