Maynard James Keenan, vocalist of Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, will open Queen B Sushi on September 4, 2026, at 816 N. Main St. in Old Town Cottonwood, Arizona.
The restaurant expands the business and cultural presence Keenan and his wife, Jennifer Keenan, have established throughout the Verde Valley over the past two decades. Queen B Sushi will combine Japanese cuisine with a rotating selection of wines produced by Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards.
The kitchen will be led by Culinary Director Brett Vibber, whose résumé includes work with Roka Akor locations in London, Hong Kong and the United States. Vibber built the restaurant’s culinary team around chefs Chuhiro “Thomas” Kato and Sheridan “Sher” Chase.
Kato trained under Nobu Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills and Masaharu Morimoto in New York. Chase, an Arizona native, developed his career in kitchens across California and Texas before returning to his home state.
Keenan said his interest in sushi began while he was living in Boston around 1987, although he did not visit Japan until touring the country with A Perfect Circle in 2000.
During that first Japanese tour, he purchased titanium and hardwood travel chopsticks made by Snow Peak. He has carried them ever since.
Keenan recalled recently meeting Janeane Garofalo, David Cross and Dave Hill at the Chelsea in New York City. Garofalo told the others that one detail she remembered about Keenan was his habit of carrying chopsticks in his pocket.
Keenan immediately reached into his pocket and produced the same pair he had purchased in Japan approximately 25 years earlier. “Twenty-five years I’ve been carrying these chopsticks,” he said. “That’s how much I love sushi.”
The restaurant’s concept began while Maynard and Jennifer Keenan were developing the menu for Queen B Vinyl Café. The couple considered establishing a complete sushi program but initially abandoned the idea because they did not expect to find the right chef in Cottonwood, a city with a population of approximately 12,000.
Before the standalone restaurant was announced, Queen B Vinyl Café began hosting dedicated sushi nights featuring sashimi, nigiri, classic and signature rolls, and omakase experiences using seasonal seafood and locally produced ingredients.
