Bourke Street cafe Pellegrini’s reopens with one empty seat

The cafe run by Sisto Malaspina, the victim in the Bourke St terror attack, has reopened this morning with one noticeable difference.

Customers have poured into the cafe run by a Bourke St terror attack victim this morning, but there’s one spot they won’t sit.

It’s the bar stool Sisto Malaspina sat each morning drinking his long black and today there instead sits a shrine in his place.

A long back with the newspaper and some candles have been placed at his regular spot in his honour, as the doors of Pellegrini’s reopen after Friday’s horrific stabbing rampage.

Customers were given free long blacks when the popular restaurant opened at 8am, many of them crying as they sipped their coffee.

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A coffee and newspaper is placed on the bar where Pellegrini's co-owner Sisto Malaspina would have sat. Picture: Nicole Garmston/AAP

His stool has been left vacant. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Co-owner Nino Pangrazio read a touching statement to staff before opening.

“Sisto and I have spent a lifetime building something special in Pellegrini’s,” Mr Pangrazio said.

“He will always be with us and I intend to ensure Pellegrini’s will always be with us.”

One man has been a customer for 60 years, first visiting the cafe as 10-year-old boy two days after he arrived in Melbourne.

“I hope the place continues in his tradition,” he told 9 News.

Another customer, Morris Sakorski, said there was a tremendous sense of loss but also a great love in the place.

“It feels empty, it won’t be the same without him, he was one of the most revered people I ever met,” he said.

Nino Pangrazio, co-owner of Pellegrini's and long time friend to Sisto, speaks to staff before opening the doors. Picture: Nicole Garmston

A photo of the pair from 2010. Picture: William West/AFP

The family of the beloved Melbourne restaurateur has spoken publicly for the first time since he was killed on Friday.

Mr Malaspina, 74, was bludgeoned to death by terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali who went on a stabbing frenzy in the city after setting a car on fire with gas bottles inside.

Mr Malaspina was walking down Bourke St, just a few hundred metres from Pellegrini’s restaurant, which he co-owned for over 40 years, when he was fatally attacked by Ali. Mr Malaspina was believed to have stopped to assist Ali when he was murdered.

Another two men, a 26-year-old security guard and a 59-year-old Tasmanian retiree, were also stabbed by the knifeman and are recovering in hospital. Ali was shot dead at point-blank range by police on the scene.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison pays his respect today. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

In a statement released yesterday, Mr Malaspina’s children described him as “a larger than life character” whose “natural generosity made every individual he met feel welcome and important”. They said every one of their father’s customers was “given the same respect and service regardless of their standing in society”.

“To him everyone was special,” the statement read.

“His love and passion for his customers remained the same for over 40 years. To him it was a joy to go to work every day.

“In honour of Dad’s memory, the wonderful staff at Pellegrini’s are determined to continue his legacy with the same passion.

“He was a distinctly recognisable figure in his colourful choice of clothing and his flamboyant personality.

“To us he was just a beautiful man, a loving husband and a doting father.”