Enduring eatery

Published 7:55 pm Friday, November 21, 2014

THOMASVILLE—Shiver me timbers! The Plaza, Thomasville’s iconic restaurant, beat out Savannah’s Pirate House for the oldest continuous restaurant in Georgia.

The Pirate House, established around 1734, is the first inn and tavern in the state, but it became a museum at one point and only recently became a restaurant again. According to Yahoo Food and Yvonne Morgan with the Georgia Restaurant Association, that makes The Plaza the “oldest continuously running restaurant in Georgia.”

That’s enough to make some at the Pirate House say, “Arrrr!”

The Plaza was originally established in 1916 by “a Davis man” at 115 N. Broad St. in the building that currently houses the Thomasville Onstage & Company’s Storefront Theater. It could seat only 26 patrons at its white marble tables.

From 1919-1921 George Lacthous, Andrew Zalumas and John Papas owned The Plaza. In the early 20s, John Papas brought on a new partner, now known only as the “red-haired Greek.”

The Plaza changed hands again. From 1926-1928, it was owned by Charlie Venos and his partner, Chris Blane. In 1942, Blane hired 26-year-old Greek immigrant Louie Mathes part-time. Mathes was serving in the U.S. Army and stationed at Thomasville Air Base. After the war, he returned to Thomasville and he and his brother Tom bought the restaurant from Blane.

The Mathes’ era marked much growth and many different expansions. In 1946, they remodeled the restaurant to hold 60 patrons. Two years later, it was remodeled again. The brothers added a private dining room to accommodate 85 patrons.

In 1954 they renovated the front, added a new sign and a second dining room. At this point, The Plaza accommodated 125 people.

New partners George Mathes and Andrew Poulos joined the Matheses in 1958. In 1968, The Plaza expanded again onto adjoining property. This expansion enlarged the dining area and added two more private dining rooms, bringing the seating capacity to 230.

In the late 1970s Angelo Mathes became a partner and, in 1978, The Plaza moved to its present location on the corner of Broad Street and Smith Avenue. According to its current owner, Michael Regina, it was then that The Plaza became known as one of the finest restaurants in the South, with a seating capacity of more than 500.

In 2007, The Plaza was bought by Regina, a New York native who moved to Thomasville for warmer weather. He said the secret to The Plaza’s longevity is simply, “giving a good food for a good value.”

Regina added, “The Plaza has always done that and we strive to serve the people what they want to eat.”

The Plaza serves an eclectic blend of Southern and Greek food. Regina said that for a lot of his customers, “it’s more about the community than the food.”

He said, “Don’t come here if you don’t want to see anyone you know. Often, it takes customers a while to get to their table because they are stopping to speak to all their friends and neighbors that are here.”

So be warned, there may not be pirates at The Plaza, but there are friends to Shanghai visitors away from their meal.