Our Story

In January 2021 we (Emma and Mark Stubbs) travelled to the West Coast of Tasmania as tourists to, amongst other things, travel on the West Coast Wilderness Railway. We had such an awesome time that it became the beginning of a love affair with Queenstown that led us to quit our jobs in Hobart, move our lives to Queenstown, and begin building the dream of owning a Wine bar and Cafe in the town.

In November 2021 the owners of Cafe Serenade on Orr Street decided to retire and so put the Cafe up for sale. The Cafe had been a succesful and thriving place famous for its curried scallop pies, however, we had no skill in the area of pie making, but we did see the potential to be a place that was more in line with our experience: a relaxing wine bar and cafe that showcased local produce with great coffee, wines, cocktails, craft beer and snacks.

Mark and Emma Stubbs, the Moonscape wine bar owners, standing on the street with Cafe Serenade in the background. Mark has his arm around Emma's shoulder, and both are smiling.

After gaining planning permission, we set about changing the look of the place to suit our vision, including: painting every surface (including the floor!), building a new bar, installing a piece of Huon Pine as a feature bar top, building a wine and beer cellar and re-surfacing the back garden with fake grass to make an awesome family friendly dining and drinking space.

The old Cafe Serenade
Emma contemplating some major changes
Bye-bye blue walls
Almost finished the walls
Floor painted
Building our bar frame
Em paints the new bar
Buying a piece of salvaged Houn Pine for the bar top.
Fitting the Huon Pine bar top
Foundations for the wine cellar and storage shed
New cool room all finished
Enjoying a Craft beer off our newly installed beer system
Em building the shed
Preparing the ground for the fake grass
Fake Grass installed by Landscape Now, Burnie.
Our good friend Doigy came over from Hobart for a working holiday to build our backyard tables
New Signage Installed by SigSigns, Burnie
The Beer garden ready for opening
Inside ready for opening day
Opening Day

Since opening the bar on 1 October 2022, we have welcomed many people through our doors, from the locals who drop in for a coffee and muffin a couple of times a week, to international visitors stopping by for a glass of wine and a snack after a big day exploring the wild West of Tasmania. We have hosted corporate functions birthday parties and a New Year’s Eve bash .

Local girls enjoying a cocktail (or two)
The West Coast MTB club usually drop in after a ride on Mt Owen
Regular customer, Shirley’s, 60th Birthday
NYE 2023
A beautiful young Hobart family visiting Queenstown
Corporate types
A Motorbike Club from Melbourne popping in for coffees as they pass through Queenstown

We have loved the journey to building our business in Tasmania’s wild West Coast, meeting many new friends for life on the way.

Thank you to everyone that has been part of our journey,

Em and Mark