|
|
What became of Subculture? Photo by Christina McDonald. |
Mystery surrounds the closure of a popular Queenstown
nightclub, about nine months after the long-time owners, who
established the club, sold it to a Wellington entrepreneur.
The premises Subculture once occupied, beside Monty's bar on
Church St, has been listed for lease with Colliers but it
could not be confirmed when Subculture stopped trading and
officially vacated.
The club was established by Simon Hendl, who is also known by
his DJ name Downtown Brown, and sisters Antonia and Michelle
Crowley, nine years ago.
In February, the Otago Daily Times reported the sale
of Subculture to a consortium headed by Wellington musician
and entrepreneur Jostan Murray.
In the same story Mr Hendl said he was excited ''to see what
changes and improvements Jostan and his crew have in store
for Subbies''.
The Queenstown Times has attempted several times to
contact Mr Murray and in a message received yesterday he said
he had no comment to make ''at this stage''.
When spoken to in May, Mr Murray said the club would continue
to host live music and as a musician he understood how
difficult it was ''to get a space to play''.
''I was looking around for this sort of business for quite a
while and the music scene was what attracted me to
Subculture,'' Mr Murray said.
Speaking from Auckland yesterday, Mr Hendl said he did not
know what became of the club, but had noticed a ''for lease''
sign outside the entrance when he was in Queenstown.
''Subculture contributed a lot to the music of Queenstown and
it is sad that it's gone,'' he said.
The club had ''brought a lot of international artists to
Queenstown, who otherwise would not have visited''.
A staff member at Monty's bar said she was unsure when
Subculture ceased trading.
It had a high profile both online and through word of mouth.
The ODT understands the owners of the building
Subculture occupied are based overseas and an online auction
site listing the lease of the premises said it was ''a
fantastic opportunity to lease a larger sized club/bar in the
heart of Queenstown's dining and entertainment precinct''.
The last listing for Subculture in Queenstown Times'
''Picks of the week'' column was on June 29 this year.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.