THOMASVILLE — Two restaurants that voluntarily closed have been the subject of extensive media inquires that have puzzled health officials.

Television and radio stations in recent days have contacted the Thomas County Health Department asking whether it had closed restaurants in Thomasville.

The Thomasville Times-Enterprise also checked with the health department after receiving an anonymous call Monday. The caller said Church’s Fried Chicken, 448 E. Jackson St., and Farmer’s Market Diner, 502 Smith Ave., had been closed.

“The first time I (was contacted) I said I would look into it,” said Carolyn Maschke, a spokeswoman for the Southwest Georgia Public Health District office in Albany. “The second time I said this was odd.”

None of the reporters could give any source for the information other than it was a tip, Maschke said.

She said that two television stations and a radio station called last week seeking information about closed restaurants.

Church’s closed without giving notice to the health department and the diner closed voluntarily to make renovations and correct violations, said Melissa Durkin, the department’s environmental supervisor in Thomas County.

The department did make a recommendation that the diner close to correct violations found during the most recent inspections, but the closing was not mandatory, Durkin said.

“It’s up to them to do it (close) if they want to,” she said. “It’s easier for them to make corrections if they’re not serving food. Apparently, they had some remodeling to do anyway.”

Dale Jones, whose family operates Farmer’s Market Diner, said that the restaurant closes about every 18 months to do renovations and that the latest closing had been planned for several months.

While the restaurant is closed it will get a total makeover, including new lighting fixtures, flooring, carpet, electrical outlets, vinyl tiles and ceiling, Jones said. Much of the work will go beyond what the state requires for eating establishments, including energy-saving improvements, he said.

The restaurant will also be remodeled to comply with stricter requirements that go into effect Jan. 1, Jones said. It has been closed for two weeks and will reopen when the work is completed.

“We’re very concerned about health issues,” he said. “Every restaurant in town is coming under intense scrutiny. The health department has been very tough on every restaurant. They’re asking us to do some modifications, but they’re asking everybody else to do some modifications. I don’t think we’re the only ones that closed to do renovations.”

Jones said that they could have had the work at night and kept the restaurant open but felt it was better to close to do a thorough job.

“We’re trying to make the restaurant look like a new restaurant, upscale,” he said. “We want to do well and beyond what the state requires, what the federal government requires, what the city requires, what the fire marshal requires. We try to provide as safe an environment as we can.”

Durkin said that the diner was not required to close and that the operators have cooperated with the inspector. The restaurant is free to reopen at any time without seeking prior approval from the health department.

The department would shut down a restaurant immediately only in the case of finding conditions that would pose an immediate and severe threat to the public, she said. When restaurants have a score below 85 there is a mandatory re-inspection held in about two weeks to determine whether violations were corrected.

The diner had a score of 66 for its last inspection on Oct. 19, according to health department reports, and its previous score was 77.

Sixteen violations were observed during the Oct. 19 inspection. Of those, 10 were category 3 violations and four were category 2, which are the least serious.

Two were category 1 violations, which are deemed imminent health hazards that require immediate correction, the reports said. Those were the dish washing machine water temperature was at 115 degrees when it should have been at 140 degrees; the other was that hot food items in the kitchen were being kept at 135 degrees.

Church’s last score was 83, with only one of the most serious violations — an upright freezer at 14 degrees that should have been 0 degrees.

“With Church’s, we’re not sure what they’re doing, if they’re remodeling, if they’re closed,” Durkin said. “We haven’t been in contact with them.”

A call to Church’s permit holder’s office in Orange Park, Fla., was answered by a machine that said the voice mailbox was full.