The Mongolian restaurant readying to open in the long-vacant Cambridge Street spot that used to house The Spotten Apron is only one step away from opening its doors.

"Actually, we are ready in all aspects to open, but....we have to wait (for) the final permit/CV license," said Wincy Chin, the general manager of Little Lamb, the Mongolian hot pot restaurant owned by chain Inner Mongolia Xiao Wei Yang. Little Lamb last month got the zoning board approval it needs to open.

The 326 Cambridge St. restaurant will be the chain's first American restaurant. They have 596 eateries worldwide, with 584 in mainland China. The rest are in the United Arab Emirates, Australian, Japan and the U.K. Little Lamb is also now negotiating a lease for a space in Flushing, N.Y.

"We love Boston, we love Beacon Hill, we consider it a landmark of Boston. This is the (top) reason for choosing the Beacon Hill as our first store location, it will be our landmark in the U.S. in the future," Chin said.