Paid for by Biggby Coffee
If you’ve ever stopped at Exit 90 on I-65 southbound, you have likely set foot in a business owned by C Creations.
Having recently opened a new Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken & Wings on Paris Drive where a Burger King used to be, the family currently owns and operates 72 Subways across the country, Biggby Coffee, several hotels, 40 rental homes and a host of other commercial realty.
Chintu and Jigna Patel moved to the United States separately decades ago. They met here, fell in love and got married. Their son, Shiv, is an operations manager for C Creations, which is named for his father.
He explains how Chintu dreamt of creating a better life for his family as he grew up in India in a home the size of a small apartment with 23 other people. “When I say he didn’t even have a percent of what he has given me and my sister, Aditi, that is literal,” Shiv says. “He grew up with literally nothing and always tells me he had the best childhood, and it was full of happiness. It goes to show you that money is not everything.”
When the pair were first married, Jigna was working as a manager at McDonald’s while Chintu finished his master’s degree, ready to go right into business. “They bought their first hotel with a loan in partnership with my mom’s parents, and that was in Oklahoma,” Shiv says. “They turned that hotel around working 24/7, successfully getting out of it with capital to move forward with their careers.”
They then found the perfect opportunity in central Indiana, with their first Subway opening in Southport. Shiv recalls being picked up from day care and going straight to that Subway. “They started with three Subways and now have 72, plus this whole portfolio of real estate,” he says. “My parents have owned Dunkin’ Donuts, Wingstops, gas stations, Choice Hotels, Subway, now Biggby Coffee and Hangry Joe’s.”
Shiv says his parents were committed to helping the entire family and have since hired much of the extended family to help oversee and run the businesses. “My dad’s dream was to bring the whole family on board and lift everyone,” he says.
During that growth, Shiv says his mom handled operations, being at the forefront of every single brand they’ve worked with, while his dad was always a “numbers guy.” To this day, the pair still consider themselves “workaholics,” sometimes working seven days a week, which Shiv says has instilled a strong family work ethic.
Shiv has watched and learned from his parents regarding what truly makes a family business not only survive, but thrive. “I’ve learned that truly successful people always hit rock bottom at some point in their career,” he says. “My parents’ business was growing very rapidly for a long time. Then my dad got into a brand that set him back five, 10 years.”
Shiv says his parents are a testament to perseverance and hard work truly paying off. “I don’t know how I would have handled a situation like that, had I not seen them go through something like that,” he says. “They just had resilience on a day-to-day basis. It’s truly inspiring.”
Currently Shiv wears several hats with C Creations, including marketing, administration, operations, human resources and construction oversight. “For example, with Captain D’s Seafood, I am getting a water sample for the city’s equipment ordering, setting up the store, making the first initial order – all that, then setting up the team for management to my entire crew, and so forth,” he says.
Shiv admits to having big plans of his own. “My goal is to create 70 Hangry Joe’s and 50 Biggby Coffee locations in 10 years,” he says. “My parents did 72 Subways in 20 years, and I want to do double in half the time because I have the capital. I have a better infrastructure, and they didn’t have a dime when they started. They didn’t know English when they came to this country. I have their support, a lot of business backing from family members and unconditional love from both my parents.”
