Successful Hotelier Expands Family Business Legacy with Children's Lighthouse Franchise in Tennessee

For Kal Patel, entrepreneurship runs in the family. As a second-generation hotelier, Kal has spent years owning and managing nine hotels along with a variety of other businesses including gas stations and rental properties. But after experiencing the ups and downs of the hospitality industry, he recognized the need for diversification. Looking for a more stable and rewarding business, Patel turned to early childhood education — and found the perfect fit with Children's Lighthouse.

Inspired by friends already in the industry and driven by a passion for quality education, Kal and his wife CJ decided to bring the Children's Lighthouse concept to Tennessee. Now, with their first location open in Mt. Juliet, they’re committed to providing families with a nurturing, curriculum-driven learning environment that aligns with their values. Looking ahead, Patel sees this as more than just a new venture — it’s a path toward long-term business growth, stability, and making a lasting impact in his community.

Family business background

Kal: I’m a second-generation hotelier. My parents moved to the U.S. in 1977 and started with a small motel in Tennessee. After graduating from college in 2004, I took over the family business, and today we own and operate nine hotels under the company Imagine Hospitality. But the hotel industry can be a rollercoaster — when the economy takes a hit, so do we. We started looking at other industries to invest in, and we had friends in early childhood education.

One of our friends’ sisters was already a Children’s Lighthouse franchisee, so we started looking into the brand. I really liked the concept, and I and my partners thought it would be a great addition to the Nashville area.

Kal: All of our hotels are franchises, so I’m very familiar with how franchising works. It’s all about having the right tools and support from the brand. Initially, we thought about opening our own early learning school, but we quickly realized how much is involved. Children’s Lighthouse already had a proven curriculum and framework in place. We were able to take what they had built and enhance it to fit our vision.

Kal: The curriculum was a big factor. My kids have gone through different childcare programs, and we kept moving them because we weren’t happy with the curriculum. But Children’s Lighthouse, which is more family oriented, really fit the mold for how I would want to raise my kids.

I also like that the brand isn’t too big — we’re not just another number. The leadership team is very family-oriented and responsive, which is huge for me. When we reached out to them, we could tell they genuinely cared about our success.

Expansion plans

Kal: Our partners and our long-term goal is to keep growing. We’re already looking at additional locations and are in talks about expanding. This could be our new main focus.

Right now, the hotel industry is really unpredictable, especially with the way the economy is going. The startup costs for Children’s Lighthouse are lower, and the profitability looks a lot better. We feel like this is a good business decision that also meets a need in our community of Mount Juliet.

Kal: We brought in a partner with experience in the children’s learning industry, which has been really valuable. There is a huge demand in our community for quality childcare and early learning schools, so we know that there are a lot of families in need of these services. My wife also plays a key role, helping make the decision to join the Children’s Lighthouse family and also handling all the accounting for the businesses. It’s really a family effort.

Kal: Franchising gives you the tools to be successful. If you follow the blueprint, you have a strong chance of making it work. These brands exist for a reason — there’s a proven history of success behind them.

It’s a lot of hard work at first, but once you get everything running smoothly, you gain the flexibility of being an entrepreneur. You can start to scale your business or even take a vacation without answering to anyone!

The Children’s Lighthouse brand was established in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1997. The Children’s Lighthouse Early Learning Schools® brand promise to create a safe, fun, and happy place that gives children confidence, a sense of comfort today, and a lifelong love of learning, friendship, and community.

Children’s Lighthouse focuses on age-appropriate and values based curriculums that focus on kindergarten readiness and creating lifelong learners. In 2025, Children's Lighthouse was ranked on the Entrepreneur 500 and as a Top Franchise for 2025 by Franchise Business Review. In 2024, Children's Lighthouse was featured on the Franchise Times Top 400.