Toldbodvinhus has been located at Middelfart’s Old Harbour on Havnegade 95 (formerly Gl. Vestergade 43 and 45) since around 1885. It was originally built as a harbour inn for the Bagge family, and the first event in innkeeper Bagge’s new property was a meeting on January 15, 1885, for the town’s fishermen. Early photographs show the Bagge family on the balcony in front of the richly decorated wooden façade, which quickly became known in town as Toldbodvinhus.

For decades, guests primarily accessed the inn from the quay, but locals also used a small passage from Gl. Vestergade, affectionately nicknamed the “Suez Canal.”

After the Bagge family, Toldbodvinhus had various owners, but it remained a regular gathering place at the harbour. From Frederikke Bjørn (1919–1957), when the staff lived behind the inn at Gl. Vestergade 43, to the period of Viggo Jensen, when the building became a meeting place for billiards players (1957–1983), to Inga Rasmussen, who in the 1980s rebuilt and reimagined the place as a “Traktørsted” (traditional Danish dining place), and later her son, Brian Rasmussen, who purchased Toldbodvinhus and ran it as a restaurant, until Christer Iversen in 2003 transformed the restaurant into a sports café. Throughout its history, birthdays were celebrated, gatherings were held, and both locals and travelers stopped by – all the way until 2007.

When the place closed, the building stood empty for 16 years, while wind and weather left a clear mark on the rooms that once buzzed with life. Today, after three years of dedicated work and the efforts of many skilled craftsmen, Toldbodvinhus has been brought back to life by Torben Østergaard-Nielsen, who chose to preserve the site as part of Middelfart’s Old Harbour rather than let it disappear.

The restoration has recreated the iconic façade, the interior has been renewed, and the setting can once again be filled with conversations, celebrations, and new memories.

Throughout the reconstruction, the ambition has been to create a place where everyone can settle in, relax, enjoy the surroundings, and take new memories with them — whether for a quiet lunch or dinner, a celebration, or a spontaneous drink with a view of the Little Belt and its two bridges.

Operations have been entrusted to Selfinvest and its own hospitality team, which has extensive experience in delivering service and culinary experiences for Torben Østergaard-Nielsen’s family-owned group USTC and its many locations in Middelfart. This anchors the operations within a group known for investing in Middelfart and valuing the quality that also defines Toldbodvinhus.

Thus, Toldbodvinhus is once again a vibrant part of Middelfart’s historic Old Harbour, to the delight of the entire town and visitors from afar for many years to come.