When first starting out, you'll probably have just a few folks (2-3). So, let everyone decide on the style of the meeting. Once you have 7 or more folks, go ahead with the lean coffee approach for the meeting (please see http://leancoffee.org/ for more info).
- Consistency. Make sure there is always someone there on meeting day.
- Availability and accessibility of the chosen venue
- For example, is it easy to get to for the people you are targeting? Check for steps/elevator availability
- What is the parking situation like?
- Conduct a poll about locations
- Provide a few ice breaker ideas to get folks talking
- Marketing .. the how you let folks know the event is happening
- meetup.com is a good way to publicize your meetup in the beginning.
- Slack. If there's a dev or ops oriented slack for your area, see if they have some sort of #meetup channel you can post announcements in.
- CoffeeOps slack - If there isn't a #cityname channel, make one. Make a point of posting every meeting there so that new members of the slack can find out there's now a CoffeeOps in the area.