Celebrity Chef Todd English expects to reopen the doors of Olives, his City Square restaurant, soon after the new year.

English told the Boston Licensing Board that renovations to his restaurant are nearly complete and he could welcome diners as soon as January, according to Universal Hub.

If those doors remained closed, though, it wouldn’t be the first time that English missed a projection.

After the restaurant suffered a fire in May 2010, an employee at Olives told Charlestown Patch that the eatery could open this past spring. The projection later moved to the fall—specifically September—which came and went without any diners entering 10 City Square.

In light of that, Universal Hub reported, the board asked for an independent assessment of the restaurant’s assessment.

Boston Police Lt. Stephen Meade visited City Square three times over the past week, he told the board, and found considerable construction activity each time. That construction also appeared to be nearing completion, he said.

And English seems to have assessed the work himself while he was in town.

Twitter user julito77 reported spotting English twice in City Square shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday.