Seeking Advice on Starting A Local Chess Club

So what kind of chess club?

How organized do you want the club to be? memberships? walk-in basis? This is important in deciding on how long your club stays around as a club or will it become just a casual chess meetup without any formal organization.  This can also determine if you must charge membership fees.

Rated and/or non-rated games? For rated games, you need a more private location and a tournament director; possibly pre-registrations too.  For non-rated/casual games, do you plan to match players or just let them (really casual) play anyone?

Where do you plan to meet? Many places are free and seem happy to host chess clubs temporarily, but blocking out a recurring time is more troublesome. Renting locations get expensive on a regular basis unless you start charging a fee, which makes it more work to recruit paying members.

Target players? old? young? kids? This determines your meeting time, for example, kids must be in bed by 8PM, but working folks can't usually get to anywhere on a regular basis until after 7 or 8PM (after rush hour).

@CheesyMcChessFace, first of all, I love that you are starting a chess club in your home town. I hope that chess grows in your area as a result.

Do you have local friends who play? Certainly reach out to them to help start out.

Do you have a location, or an idea of a location? If not, I imagine being a new club, you barely have a budget, so try and look for somewhere free or low of charge. If you are starting out small, there's nothing wrong with meeting somewhere "odd" like at a restaurant, or even someone's house. Once you grow, you might look for a better venue to meet.

I'd definitely start the first few meetings off at some casual games. Maybe a short lesson in the beginning. You might start thinking about tournaments. Start with some fun unrated tournaments to get your players used to how to play in a tournament. I'd still advise showing your players how to use a clock, notation, etc. The tournament just would not be rated. 

After a few months of growing and developing, start thinking about rated tournaments with the USCF (United States Chess Federation). Many people will be excited to get an "Over the board" rating. Apply to become a tournament director here. Get the tournaments flowing!

In the meantime, you are still welcoming new members, getting them used to the chess club, possibly preparing them for the tournament arena, etc.

Let me know if you have questions. I'd love to hear how this journey goes!