Popular with local fans of bass-heavy genres of music such as dubstep, drum'n'bass, jungle and hip-hop, the 8am-4am licensed club has just celebrated its eighth birthday.
However, locally based owners Antonia Crowley and partner Simon "Downtown Brown" Hendl are the proud parents of a 9-month-old boy and they say it is time to move on from their "other baby".
"We had a three-to-five-year plan where we wanted to own a bar and eight years on we want to move on and become more family orientated," Miss Crowley said.
The bar was listed on an online auction website on May 3 with a "$340,000 or near offer" asking price, and Miss Crowley said the couple, along with her sister and business partner, Michelle, a drum'n'bass DJ, already had had some interest from potential buyers.
"We have had some people looking at it quite seriously, but obviously nothing's really sold until it's sold. We would definitely stay and help them out with the music acts and that sort of thing if they want to carry on, but if they want to change it, that's cool."
The trio opened Subculture in 2003 and, with Queenstown's only nightclub entertainment licence, were soon attracting national and international acts. Later, hungry Queenstowners were drawn to the popular "Noodle Ninja" kitchen addition.
Mr Hendl also tours, plays locally as a DJ and is a member of Queenstown's Sunshine Sound System. Along with his partner, he organised this year's inaugural - and successful - Shotover Sunshine Festival, which is set to continue as a two-yearly fixture in 2013.
Both hope to stay in touch with the Queenstown music scene as much as possible and, if a prompt sale means they do not have to put "quite a lot of energy" into Subculture, there may even be the possibility of organising another festival this summer.
"There's nothing in the pipeline just yet. It really depends on the sale of Subculture over the next few months," Miss Crowley said.
