Matriarch of Fred's Market in Plant City still serving up hospitality and home cooking on 95th birthday

PLANT CITY, Fla. - Happy birthday greetings came with hugs and kisses for Evelyn Johnson. The matriarch at Fred’s Market in Plant City turned 95 years old on Monday.

She’s the architect of an amazing spread of country cooking that the Johnson's started serving up in 1954. They started at their filling station when gas was cheap and chicken was fried.

"They would stop by to get gas and say ‘you got any chicken in there?’ I’d say ‘sure, come on in.’ That’s how it all started," said Evelyn. 

She started with her husband Elton, who passed away in 2010. They switched their business from gas to food. These days their chicken is to die for, and their peach cobbler is like you’ve gone to heaven. But, Evelyn said when they started nearly 70 years ago, she didn’t have a clue about restaurants.

"No, back then we didn’t go out and eat, Dixie Restaurant was up town, and we’d go up there every once in a while," Evelyn said.

What she lacked in knowledge of the restaurant business, she made up for in her warmth and her natural way with people.

"Mom has no personal agenda. She doesn’t want anything," said Fred Johnson, her son and owner of Fred’s Market. "She just wants to be here and take care of people. She always has."

Evelyn isn’t just here on her birthday greeting people. She’s a fixture here every weekday from around 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"I can only crochet so much, and my house doesn’t get that dirty," Evelyn laughed. "Why should I stay home when I can see all these good people " 

At 95, Evelyn has no plans to retire.