Licensing Board: English Can Keep Olives Liquor License -- for 45 Days

The city’s Licensing Board voted Thursday to let Todd English hang on to his liquor license at Olives in City Square even though the restaurant has been closed for nearly a year. The vote, however, is contingent on a status hearing in 45 days – and whether English has the restaurant operable and open by then, according to an official in the Licensing Board office.

At a hearing before the board earlier this week, English said the restaurant’s re-opening has been delayed because he’s had trouble collecting money from his insurance company. Olives has been closed since last Memorial Day weekend when there was a grease fire in the kitchen. The fire was the third for the restaurant.

English also told the Licensing Board, according to reports on Universal Hub and Boston.com, that he will install a new ventilation system in Olives, as well as gas-fired ovens.

The board’s decision Thursday effectively preserves the liquor license at Olives, but only through May. The board could revoke the license then if Olives is still closed.

In January, Patch called Olives and an employee reported the restaurant would be serving again by spring. Patch tried to confirm this with Todd English Enterprises in New York City, but repeated calls to Lindsey Valdez, brand manager at the company, went unreturned.

Olives opened in Charlestown in 1989 and had served as English’s flagship restaurant for years. (He opened Figs on Main Street about five years later.) The Olives fire last May was attributed to a grease buildup. Boston Fire Department officials said it ignited by cooking gases in the kitchen and it caused an estimated $200,000 in damage.

The fire was the third for Olives: in 2001 a grease fire in ducts shut down the restaurant and in 2007 it happened again.