True cost — by city
Premium Northeast market, grouped with NYC/Philadelphia/DC in Northeast construction region $350-$870/sq ft general construction (Revizto). Massachusetts liquor timeline 90-180 days (city council + ABCC); Boston quota makes full liquor licenses much higher than state fee table suggests (TouchBistro note).
Bhumi premium +20% above national average for Chicago/Boston. Northeast drivers: dense urban, union labor, stringent codes, winter weather. No Boston-specific restaurant TI table found in 2025-2026 guides searched — note uses regional Northeast band, hence wider uncertainty than NYC/LA.
Overall cost level: higher for a US restaurant opening. The city moves the rent and the build-out; the state moves the permits, the certificates and the liquor clock — and Boston sits in Massachusetts.
Start with the state layer: Massachusetts permits · Massachusetts liquor · Massachusetts hub.
Don't read the table — run your verdict. Pick Massachusetts, add your format and rent — the regulated lines fill themselves.
Included in the $49 Opening Pack: the filled templates, trackers, calendars and worksheets for this door — built from the same dated datasets as the free checker above.
Sources: Bhumi Calculator — Restaurant Construction Cost Per Square Foot 2026; Revizto — Average Commercial Construction Costs 2026; LiquorLicenseCost 2026, 2026-02. Dataset checked October 23, 2026. Where a fee or rule is set by a county or city, this page says so instead of guessing a number.