Is The Former Olives Ready for a New Life? You Bet

All indications are that the former home of Olives, Todd English's break-through restaurant that brought foodies to City Square, will soon be the site of a "swanky" new eatery.

That's the word coming out of a morning meeting of the Boston Licensing Board which heard from English's attorney Dennis Quilty who said the restauranteur is about to settled his dispute with landlord William Carey – that would be $780,000 in back rent and interest – by handing over Olives coveted Boston liquor license to Carney.

"I'm hopeful of it happening any day now," said Quilty as it was reported on the website UniversalHUB. England has said in the past the he had outgrown the location and would reopen his landmark eatery somewhere in Boston proper. 

If the handover of the license goes to plan, Carey will not only receive the valuable full-liquor license – which can be sold for up to $300,000 as Boston is prohibited by the Massachusetts Legislature from issuing new permits – but also a fully renovated space that English paid for after a devastating grease fire occurred at the 10 City Square site in 2010.

The restaurant re-opened in 2012 but closed this June.

The Boston Globe blog, the Restaurant Hub, indicated that rumors had a Legal Test Kitchen, considered the best seafood restaurant and bar in Boston's Seaport District, coming to the site while Eater Boston wondered if it could become a hotel.

The question now is, who will Carey lure into the renovated location dangling that liquor license at the end of the lure?