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Restaurateur Named Plant City's Citizen Of The Year

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By JAN HOLLINGSWORTH | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 20, 2008

PLANT CITY - Fred Johnson's plate is so full he's never found time to attend the annual luncheon where local civic clubs honor the community's citizen of the year.

This year, the prolific restaurateur pulled himself away from the winter rush at his eateries just so he could see his cousin, Johnny Dean Page, receive the prestigious award – or so he was told.

"I've been lied to!" he exclaimed today, smiling broadly as hundreds of men and women gave him a standing ovation.

Turns out it was Johnson the town's leaders had turned out to fete for his many contributions over the years – from coaching youth basketball to serving on the boards of the local chamber of commerce, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the South Florida Baptist Hospital Foundation and the Plant City Boys & Girls Club, to name a few.

Most folks, though, know Johnson for the down home Southern meals he's been serving at his family restaurants since the 1980s. He is the "Freddy" in BuddyFreddys – a small chain of restaurants he launched in Plant City with his brother, Buddy Johnson, the county's supervisor of elections. Both have sold their interest in the chain, which retains their names.

Fred Johnson operates Fred's Farm Market Restaurant and Grandpa Johnson's Barbeque in Plant City and Fred's Southern Kitchen in Lakeland. A second Polk County location is in the works in Bartow.

"If you've live in Plant City more than 30 days, you've availed yourself of his services," said last year's citizen of the year, Jack Gibbs, who introduced Johnson to the luncheon crowd as a man who is known for his "relentless pursuit of community service."

"I just do what my mom and daddy tell me," Johnson told the crowd gathered at the Red Rose Inn and Suites' ballroom in Plant City. "My daddy told me to work all the time."

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