PLANT CITY, Fla. — The Johnson family is celebrating 70 years of southern hospitality in Plant City this year.
Evelyn and Elton Johnson started the family business with the first Johnson’s Restaurant in 1954. It started as a gas station but Evelyn says that quickly changed into fueling bellies.
“I would cook at home and take it out there and he says, ‘Why not just put a stove out here and cook out here?’" Evelyn said. "So guess what? That’s what we did.”
At 96, she’s still a part of the scene, but now enjoys it from her rocker at the front of the restaurant, instead of behind the stove. In 1998, the couple’s son Fred carried the tradition forward and opened Fred’s Market, right next to his parents' barbeque joint.
“I’m glad it’s here, so I can get up and come over here and act like I work here,” she said.
Elton Johnson passed away in 2010 after 51 years of marriage to Evelyn. She said more than a decade later, it would make him proud to see how beloved the spot still is in the community and how longstanding the staff remains, many with decades of work under their aprons.
“It makes me feel proud that we're still on the map. Still going. In September I’ll be 97. I’m getting pretty old, soon I’ll be 100,” Evelyn said with a smile.
While she rocks and crochets, her sister Charlotte, who’s two years younger, greets patrons at the door. Lots of the visitors she welcomes come in every day for what the family calls the market table. It’s a buffet-style setting with farm-to-plate options, well known for fried chicken, fresh scrambled eggs and weekday plate options, including meatloaf on Tuesday.
Evelyn credits all the good food to her longevity.
“Don’t drink, don’t smoke, eat good food – like fried chicken and all that good stuff.”