By the end of Buck Jones’ first semester at the University of South Carolina, he felt that “the center of the world was the Horseshoe.” The university and the city of Columbia had enveloped the first-year student from Aiken, South Carolina, in circles of support and opportunity. He knew he’d found the right place to grow and thrive.
“I remember fondly at Carolina the feeling of: You have your best friend, and then you have your suite mates in your apartment, and then you have your fraternity or extracurricular activity, and then you have your larger South Carolina Honors College family, and then on top of that, you have the extended university and the alumni community, and then you have the city of Columbia and the state of South Carolina,” he reflects. “All of those are just manifestations of the same shared general values that I think create a nurturing place.”
But Jones’ time in the South Carolina Honors College wasn’t just a period of comfort and certainty. Rather, the Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae major (1988) would encounter professors, courses and opportunities that would sharpen his critical thinking skills, improve his writing and encourage him to study abroad.
While the Horseshoe might have been the center of the world during Jones’ undergrad experience, he would not remain there. His story extends well beyond the Horseshoe’s gates and into the unexpected. Or, if you speak French, as Jones does, his story extends into l’imprévu — which just so happens to be the name of the café that Jones and his husband own in the heart of Paris, France.
“I think that, when I had the lucidity of mind to comprehend what my life was going to be in 2024 – 2025,” says Jones, “it was still very much, realistically, I’d be living in South Carolina, hopefully in politics. Maybe I’d be able to vacation each year in France… I would be absolutely in shock that I would be having a life in Paris.”
These days, Jones is a full-time author who writes about politics, amongst other subjects. And though he lives in France, in his fiction, he’s often still at home in South Carolina.
L’étudiant
Another important influence on Jones’ education was USC and Honors faculty member Carolyn Matalene and her rhetoric and writing course.
“For me, Carolyn Matalene’s class was the first tickling of the brain that really made me want to start, not necessarily questioning everything,” he says, “but to, when something was presented to me as, ‘This is the way it’s supposed to be,’ or ‘This is the way it is because…,’ an appeal to reason, that was my real awakening to how I wanted to live my life and how I wanted to pursue writing and my thought.”
He recalls friendly competitions with his dormmate Larry Slovensky — “We’re still close to this day”— about who could earn the highest marks on professor Matalene’s essays. But the impact was much deeper than a grade: The class ignited Jones’ inquisitive and reflective nature and helped him form a critical-thinking lens through which to view the world.
And his world was expanding. At the encouragement of his academic advisor William Mould, dean of the Honors College, Jones chose to spend a year studying abroad in Tours, France. The experience would kindle a love of the country and culture: “It just really gave me that fever of wanting to, if not live in France, at least have an ongoing relationship with France.”
Jones would go on to earn a master’s in international business from Carolina. He interned in Paris, which only strengthened his desire to live there permanently. But, as Jones reflects, that was easier said than done. Moving to another country wasn’t part of any course’s curriculum — he’d just have to figure it out. So, after earning his master’s degree, he worked in Los Angeles, California, and made French business contacts during summer visits. Year by year, the plan for moving to France took shape.
“I had already met my husband, Martin, and we both had the same dream that we wanted to live in France, so we just made a decision that on such and such a day, we would give our notice at our jobs,” he says.
And that’s exactly what they did. In 2006, they resigned from their jobs, sold their Los Angeles condo and used the capital as a down payment on a Parisian café.
La vie à Paris
It took about six months to purchase the right café, but by February of 2007, Jones and Martin were the proprietors of L’imprévu. The location, nestled two blocks from the Notre Dame cathedral, was perfect, but the café needed some menu and cosmetic updates.
The partners expanded the selection of beers on tap, added food offerings and refined the décor so that it looked less like “a T.G.I. Friday’s type.” Under their leadership, L’imprévu has attracted a loyal clientele, and by Jones’ estimate, about 95% of patrons are locals — quite a feat in a city of tourists.
“It’s a very faithful customer base,” says Jones. “A lot of people have been coming since they were in college and met their mates, had their first date at L’imprévu, and after they get married, they have their wedding party at L’imprévu.”
Jones credits Martin’s ability to make the regulars feel like they’re part of the café’s success story. And the regulars aren’t the only ones who feel welcome at L’imprévu. In 2024, Jones and Martin hosted USC President Michael Amiridis and First Lady Ero Aggelopoulou-Amiridis when the Gamecock women’s basketball team played an exhibition match against the University of Notre Dame. He’s also taken the time to meet with USC students in Paris and host Honors study abroad classes.
“I remember one class that came through that was in town for (a class about) street art…we just all sat around the café and talked. They asked great questions, and I was just struck at how mature they were. At least, when I look back at my time at South Carolina, I don’t picture myself being a mature adult,” he laughs. “I picture myself as being an awkward teenager still. These kids have the world ahead of them…I was very proud to be part of their experience in Paris.”
When he isn’t meeting with students in person, Jones gives virtual guest lectures in the SCHC’s Recipe for Entrepreneurship class. He stresses the importance of staying adaptable and reactive in business — in other words, weathering the unexpected.
L’écrivain sud-Carolinien
Before entertaining visitors at L’imprévu and giving virtual lectures, Jones kept in touch with friends and former classmates through letters. Maintaining relationships and staying up to date on South Carolina happenings were priorities, no matter how far away he moved. This communication “triggered an outlet for me to be creative in my writing so it would be an interesting read for someone receiving a missive from Buck Jones in Paris.”
That outlet would expand into a novel-length work, set in South Carolina in the 1960s. In 2022, Jones published The Last Good Republican, the story of an aspiring politician who must choose between the love of his life or his love of the state he serves.
“I just thought (the title) was provocative in a way that was kind of jarring if you’re of a Republican political bent, or if you’re of a Democratic political bent,” he explains. “Either way, you’re going to look at a title and scratch your head and think, ‘Is this something I really want to read?’”
That’s Jones’ hope: that readers from across the political spectrum will find content in the story and characters that appeal to them. The book is his “love story from my perspective back to the state and the University of South Carolina.”
He admits, though, that he hasn’t been back to the state since he finished his master’s in international business in 1994. But in another unexpected development, All Good Books in Five Points recently invited him to visit Columbia at the end of May to speak about his novel.
So, the question is: When Monsieur Buck Jones returns to the Horseshoe after thirty years, will it be the significant place that he remembers?
The answer is yes, and then some.
“I found it a bit cathartic to write about South Carolina as a work in progress still. I think that there is so much potential for South Carolina, and I think that there’s a lot of joy from my part when I look back at what Columbia was when I was there as an undergrad back a long time ago,” he says. “Now, when I’m online and I’m seeing how much it’s evolved and how much it’s changed for the better and it seems like it’s such a great place to live, and a fun place to have friends and have family — and in the sense of community, I think it is amazing.”