Lindt Cafe That Was Site of Sydney Siege Is Set to Re-Open

The site of a 16-hour siege in a busy downtown Sydney district in December that left two hostages and a gunman dead is set to reopen.

Martin Place Cafe will reopen on Friday, Lindt Australia CEO Steve Loane said in a statement.

"We feel that reopening the Café to the public and moving forward positively is the right thing to do," Sloane said. “After the tragic events that happened in December we discussed this reopening with our staff and gave a lot of thought to next steps. Overwhelmingly, the feeling was that reopening and moving forward is the best thing to do for everyone affected.”

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On Monday, Dec. 15, an armed, self-proclaimed sheik with terrorist sympathies stormed the cafe and took 17 people hostage. Some hostages were forced during the ordeal to display a flag used by Islamist terror groups in the window of the cafe.

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Ten hostages managed to escape the cafe during the standoff before gunfire erupted Tuesday morning, prompting police to storm the cafe, during which the gunman and two hostages were killed.

Sloane said a new plaque will be on display inside the cafe in memory of Tori Johnson, the cafe’s manager, and Katrina Dawson, a respected attorney and mother, who were killed during the siege.

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—Richie Duchon