The Myers Park pub owner and Queens professor shares a pint — and tales of his fascinating life.
by Natalie Dick | photographs by Richard Israel
Jim “Doc” Foster might be the coolest professor I’ve ever met. At 71 years young, the owner and co-founder of Selwyn Pub in Myers Park is a fireball — and he’ll tell you so himself.
“My students say I have ‘rizz,’ which means charisma,” Foster jokes as we settle in with a pint at the bar on a spectacular Friday afternoon in March.
The timing of our get-together is perfect. In a few hours, UNC will face Duke in the semifinals of the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament in uptown. Young professionals and dads with babies strapped to their chests trickle in to kick off the St. Patrick’s Day weekend and secure a coveted spot on Selwyn’s legendary patio.
“Selwyn Pub is not just a place; it’s an experience,” Foster says as he sips his Guinness. “You can see millionaires in blue jeans sitting beside college students. There’s some magic here that can’t be replicated.”
The soul of the pub is intertwined with a dream that Foster and his 96-year-old father, “Coach,” brought to life 35 years ago when they turned a tiny old house in the heart of Myers Park into a popular neighborhood hangout.
Selwyn Pub’s wings and beer taps
“We’re not an Irish pub; we’re a Myers Park pub. What makes us Irish is the hospitality. We don’t pay much attention to social media or reviews, and we don’t have an advertising budget,” Foster explains. “We start with the customers and work backward.”
The pub’s patrons are multigenerational. OG’s (like me) started coming while in college. Our now twentysomething kids are drawn for the same reasons: Selwyn’s laid-back vibe, affordable fare and nostalgia. Foster credits the pub’s longevity to the philosophy of Kaizen.
“It’s a Japanese management philosophy of continuous improvement across all segments of a business. We’re constantly working to improve and keep it relevant.” His most recent refresh is a subtle logo update, replacing “Charlotte 1990” (the year the pub was established) with “Myers Park Casual,” along with new merch he calls “Doc Couture.”
In life, as in business, Foster refuses to become outdated. While he considers himself a professor first, he has led a fascinating life as a licensed attorney and CPA, an inventor, author, former college basketball and softball coach, bartender, bouncer, Saratoga harness track groomer, roofer, and Keebler cookie salesman. And as I discovered in our afternoon together, he can weave an Irish tale with the best of them. Sláinte!
Northern-born, Southern by choice
“My father has always said that I’m a Southerner mistakenly born in the North,” Foster tells me. “I hated the snow — hated it.”
Raised in Hyde Park, New York, Foster is the middle child of three and the only son born to Jim “Coach” Foster Sr. and Joan Fitzpatrick Foster. He graduated from Siena College with a bachelor’s in accounting in 1976 and earned his law degree three years later from Union University Albany Law School, where he attended on a scholarship.
“I had a job offer in Syracuse. Fifty-seven sunny days a year,” he recalls, tapping his forehead for effect. “I thought, wait a minute. Am I going to work 30 or 40 years to retire in Florida like most people, or should I just cut out the middleman now?” He chose Charlotte based on the advice of his best friend, who worked for IBM.
“He said IBM is betting big on Charlotte … and if IBM says it’s the place to be, then it’s the place to be.” Foster had already passed the CPA exam and the bar in New York. So in 1979, he packed up his old Buick and drove south to begin work with Deloitte as a tax adviser.
“I had zero money and didn’t know a single person in Charlotte — no one — but people were so welcoming despite my being a Yankee and a Catholic,” Foster jokes.
After three years, Queens College (now University) approached Deloitte about staffing an introductory accounting night class. Foster was tapped to fill the position, which eventually led to a full-time role at the McColl School of Business. The new gig also allowed him to start a tax-planning firm.
“I’ve always told my students not to be afraid. Life is not a spectator sport. You must jump right in and figure it out,” he says.
Around the same time, Foster encouraged his parents and sisters to move south.
“I wanted to grow deep roots for our family in Charlotte,” Foster says. Thanks to Selwyn Pub, that eventually happened — but not before he made a life-changing decision. Foster held a secret very few people knew, and one he only recently shared with his daughters.
Foster’s greatest gift
Big ideas and creativity are among Foster’s fortes — he’s constantly thinking of ways to make things better. That mindset led to a highly lucrative invention: the convertible multi-function child restraint system. Yep, the one it seems like every parent uses to safely transport infants from one place to another without removing them from the carrier. He got the idea while visiting his sister and godson in 1988.
“Watching her struggle to get him in and out, I thought there had to be a better way. So, I scribbled an idea on a napkin, and when I got back to Charlotte, I had a buddy file for the patent,” Foster recalls.
Unfortunately, his breakthrough idea was ahead of the industry. He couldn’t find a company willing to license the patent and was concerned that, if he did, one manufacturer would gain exclusive rights and drive up the cost for consumers.
While he was opening the pub, Foster chose not to renew his patent, despite a $6,000 investment. “I thought long and hard about my decision, and I ultimately chose to give this idea to the world,” Foster says. Soon after, similar child-safety restraints flooded the market. The rest, as they say, is history.
“My simple design is still central to what will soon be a $7 billion industry. But my reward has been great. Whenever I see someone pushing a stroller with a tiny child at SouthPark Mall, I smile and silently think, ‘You are so welcome!’”
Southern fried pickles and fries with Sriracha ranch
A pub is born
Selwyn Avenue Pub opened on June 16, 1990. It was renamed after a few years of everyone calling it simply Selwyn Pub.
“As time went on, people started calling us just ‘Selwyn.’ Now, the younger crowd says, ‘Let’s go to Selly,’” Foster tells me.
For years, Foster had driven past the house on his way to Queens. He thought it would be the perfect spot for a pub, but his dad worried it might not be big enough. Foster suggested building a patio under the big tree out front.
“Nobody had anything like it in 1990,” he says. Coach wasn’t keen on the idea, but he trusted his son. The patio cost $5,000. “We recouped all our money in just one weekend, and to this day, my father tells everyone it was the best idea he ever had,” Foster says
Eventually, the tree had to be removed after arborists warned that it could fall on the property; now a new retractable awning keeps out the rain and sun. The new addition has allowed for celebrations year-round, from sporting events to post-wedding parties.
The Charlotte way
Selwyn’s become a vital part of the community, and Foster is fiercely proud of his team’s commitment to giving back.
“I’ve had many great mentors, like Hugh McColl, Derek Close and Fred Whitfield — people I admire so much,” he says. “There’s a Charlotte way of doing business that means being involved in the community and giving back.”
Their philanthropic efforts include supporting the Good Fellows Club, a nonprofit that provides one-time emergency assistance to Charlotte families in need; being longtime donors to HoopTee Charities, which sends underserved youth to summer camp; and in recent years, sponsoring the Dilworth Little League.
Then there’s Foster’s endorsement of one of his Queens University students, Jayson Alexander.
“Jayson asked me for advice about his business. I thought maybe he was an influencer or selling T-shirts,” Foster says. “When he told me he was a NASCAR driver trying to move up to the ‘Big Time,’ I knew I had to help him.” Last May, Alexander debuted the #10 Selwyn Pub/Constant Contact Camry in the ARCA Menards Series.
Whether offering a job to a former employee’s college kid or lending an ear to a student contemplating their future, Foster is always eager to help.
“I have been blessed with success. My family, Queens University and Selwyn Pub have given me more joy in a lifetime than anyone deserves,” he says.
Doc’s Delight pizza (pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions and green pepper)
The Quail Hollow golf cart heist
There’ve been plenty of shenanigans at Selwyn Pub over its 35 years, but the most infamous is the Quail Hollow golf cart heist of 2015. After the Wells Fargo Championship, a couple of fans stole the club manager’s golf cart and drove it 5 miles to get a drink.
“I got a call from a bartender,” Foster recalls. “He told me two guys pulled up in a golf cart, onto the patio and right up to the bar and ordered two tequila shots.” The perpetrators abandoned the golf cart at the pub, and Foster notified Quail Hollow about the hijinks. The club towed the golf cart back the following day, but not before the stunt went viral.
“It was on Total Frat Move. I had (ESPN SportsCenter anchor) Hannah Storm and other media calling me. They even heard about it in South Korea,” Foster chuckles. “It was everywhere!” The “bandits” were captured on surveillance video, and the escapade is now part of pub lore.
“Doc’isms”
In addition to being a stellar storyteller, Foster is known for his knack for imparting “Doc’isms” to his students and young staff. He pulls out a notebook he brought to our meeting and turns to a page where he has jotted down a list to share with me.
“I eschew rules,” Foster tells me adamantly. “Don’t call these rules. They’re guidelines I follow in every decision I make regarding family, business, and friends.”
- If you’re not the lead dog, your view never changes. I’m not staring at somebody’s back end. I don’t follow anybody.
- Start with the customer and work backward, then you never have to sell them anything; deliver and deliver consistently.
- In almost every obstacle, there’s a hidden opportunity.
- If you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly. Don’t do anything halfway. Do everything with enthusiasm or you’ll never know if it works.
- About the only thing you’ll find in the middle of the road is a dead skunk. Don’t be in the middle!
- When in doubt, attack and move forward with an enthusiasm that is hard to explain. If you don’t know what to do, do something!
- Whenever someone says it’s not about the money, you know at least two things: they aren’t telling you the truth, and it’s about the money.
- Charge forward with humility, succeed, adjust or turn around.
- Never kick yourself when you’re down because, if you look up, you’ll see a line forming of people who will do it for you and tell you, “I told you so.” Boom! That hurts!
- You can afford to lose almost anything, but not your sense of humor.
Show gratitude. Work hard. Do well and don’t forget to do good.
Living in the ‘Estrogen Palace’
Walk into Selwyn Pub, and everyone knows Doc. In years past, you’d find Coach there, too, holding court near the bar. But Foster says the real powerhouse that keeps Selwyn Pub running day to day is his wife of 33 years, Margaret.
“If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have beer to sell,” Foster says. They met when Margaret was a student at Queens. What started as a platonic professor-student relationship evolved into mentorship, friendship and, later, love. The couple have three daughters, who routinely update their dad about what’s on trend and what’s not.
“I live in the estrogen palace,” Foster quips. Kidding aside, strong women have always played an important role in Foster’s life. He grew up surrounded by sisters, and he felt a kindred spirit with his mother, who died at 62 from lung cancer.
“I look just like my dad, but I’m 99% my mom. She was so creative and a descendant of Irish poets. She supported Selwyn Pub because she thought it would keep our family together — working together — and for 35 years she’s been right,” he says.
Selwyn’s legacy
Foster stays busy bouncing between the pub and Queens, where he is a tenured professor of business law and ethics.
“When you don’t know how much time you have left, you want to spend it wisely,” he tells me. “Everything I do now is about what has the greatest impact.”
I can’t imagine Foster slowing down anytime soon — if at all. For now, he’s preparing a business plan that looks far into the future, long after he’s gone. In June, the Fosters will welcome their first grandchild, a baby girl, into the family.
“Margaret is going to be called Lolli,” he says sweetly, “and I’m going to be Pop.”
I ask him what he’s most proud of in life as he takes a final swig of his Guinness. Then, in a flash of Irish wit, he quickly blurts out, “My wife and three girls. I have this specific definition of love — it’s the bullet test. Who would you take a bullet for? There are only four people on that list. I tell my father I love him, but only a flesh wound for him because I’m not leaving my wife and three lovely daughters. He’s 96 — I’ll lean in a little for him, but I’m not running in front of him!” SP
TAKE FIVE
Something few people know about you: My dad and I were honored with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest honor society.
Something that would surprise your students: I can be very introverted. I treasure my quiet time when I sit in my recliner while listening to music contemplating my next big idea.
Current projects outside work: I’m creating a soundtrack of my life, songs that have inspired me. There are two categories: who I strive to be and where I have been. Songs include “The Impossible Dream” (Luther Vandross), “Run for the Roses” (Dan Fogelberg) and “The Pretender” (Jackson Browne).
Something you could improve on: Punctuality. I’ve only been early once in my life, and that’s when I was born.
Most entertaining pub patrons: Al McGuire. He visited with a friend in 1994 when Charlotte hosted the Final Four and ordered a sliced onion sandwich on white bread. I also once took Chuck Daly to church with me after meeting him here. And of course, we built a special VIP area for Michael Jordan years ago.
