JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Prissy King, a local social media influencer, posted a TikTok video about getting collard greens from E.B. "The Green Man" Johnson. Johnson is the owner of The Clean Greens Mart and he's been in business for 30 years. The video was posted Sunday and it has since gone viral. The post shows more than 45,000 likes and 250,000 views. People from around the country are calling his small business to get a bag of his pre-cut and washed collard greens. With Thanksgiving next week, business is booming for the Green Man.
"Every time I go into my TikTok it's like, 99+," King smiled. "99+ notification. I'm just like 'Oh my God. What is happening?' Every single time I go in there."
First Coast News stopped by his business the day after the viral video was posted. His phone kept ringing. Johnson was getting calls from Illinois, New York, Washington and California. The Green Man said he couldn't believe what was happening. He's gotten so many orders for his collard greens, that customers are making pre-orders. Plus, he's included overnight shipping with his services. Some people even called back to add more to their order.
"It makes me feel like the man who invented toilet paper," Johnson joked. "When people realized they needed toilet paper, they found the toilet paper man were happy to find him. I'm like that. I'm the Green Man. They found me. 'What? You clean greens?' Yeah, that's what we do."
Johnson said King and her friend showed up to his business said told him 'we're gonna make you famous'. King said she hoped her video would go viral.
"He deserves it," King said. "These greens are so good."
The viral video showed Johnson pointing to the camera saying "I wanna be your Green Man." He showcased his product; a bag of washed, cut collard greens with no stems. In the video he can be heard saying his greens are to made for those who cook for the president or the head of a household. King mentioned to First Coast News the same video is also making waves on Instagram.
"If you do something that people need, somehow God will see to it that the people get to know what you are doing," the Green Man said.
The Clean Greens Mart is located at 1807 W. 45th Street.
