THOMASVILLE — World War I raged as The Plaza Restaurant opened in the 100 block of South Broad Street in the heart of downtown Thomasville.

The 91-year-old Plaza moved a block south on Broad almost three decades ago, and in recent days changed ownership.

Another war rages as a trio of Thomasville male relatives of Greek heritage sold the family business 11 days ago to a native New Yorker.

World War II had just ended when the Mathes brothers, Louie and Tom, purchased The Plaza from Chris Blane. This month, the Greek gentlemen’s descendants sold the business to Michael Regina.

George A. Mathes, 73, was born in Greece. He came “straight to Thomasville” Jan. 7, 1949, and joined his father, Tom Mathes, in the restaurant.

Andrew Poulos, Mathes’ second cousin, arrived here from his native Greece Sept. 7, 1955. Poulos, who could not speak English, disembarked from a passenger train at the Thomasville depot on West Jackson Street. “Thomasville” was written on a sign around his neck.

“When I first got here, I was washing pots,” Poulos, 70, recalled.

“George is my brother,” Thomasville native Angelo Mathes explained. “Andrew is an illegitimate cousin.”

George Mathes, Angelo Mathes and Poulos jointly owned The Plaza.

“I am in it since the day I came here,” George Mathes said. He will continue to visit the restaurant, most likely daily, but his Plaza labors have come to an end.

Poulos will stay for a couple of years.

Angelo Mathes, 55, will stay until Regina is settled. Mathes is looking at “other opportunities” outside the restaurant business.

Plaza owners have been talking to Regina about the sale for seven months. Owners wanted to ensure the Plaza continued as a restaurant and that the business’ tradition remained intact.

Interest had been shown in the 217 S. Broad St. location as a site for a civic center, a pharmacy or a bank. Owners were not interested.

“Michael will serve the same food,” Poulos said.

The Greek dishes will go unchanged. The Southern fare on the Plaza lunch buffet will stay the same.

Poulos will continue to be in charge of the kitchen.

“I don’t plan to change anything the place is known for,” Regina said. “People seem to like all the food that’s served here.”

The owner, who is Italian, will enhance the menu with pasta dishes, more salads, veal and oysters on the half-shell. An extensive wine list and dessert cart also are forthcoming.

Eventually, the building will be updated with new ceilings, carpeting and paint. Restrooms will be remolded. The Plaza, which employs 30, will remain open throughout the project.

Do not expect immediate changes, Regina advised. “The people of Thomasville do not want a dramatic change here,” the new owner said, while dining on a Plaza breakfast of an omelet, hashbrowns and toast.

Regina’s purchase includes six occupied storefronts facing Smith Avenue at the rear of the restaurant, which moved to the site in February 1979.

“Michael knows his success will be based on service. He shows a lot of energy, a lot of dedication, and he’s quite intelligent. I think he’ll do well,” Angelo Mathes said.

Regina, 42, was born in New York City and grew up in Rockland County, a New York suburb.

The new Plaza owner had sold his 250-seat Italian restaurant in Westchester County, N.Y., when a high-school friend operating the dining room at Cairo Country Club requested his help.

“He knew I had sold my restaurant in New York and wanted to live somewhere I can play golf year-round,” Regina explained.

He was playing golf in Cairo with someone, who told him The Plaza was where people “hang out.” A little later, Regina learned the restaurant was for sale. Pursuing ownership began.

Regina assisted his friend at Cairo Country Club while negotiating with Plaza owners. The deal closed Jan. 3.

Regina’s youngest brother, Joseph Regina, 28, is the Plaza manager. He worked in a New York restaurant before joining his brother, who is sole Plaza owner.

Several gentlemen seated at a Plaza table, all in their 70s and 80s, have been dining at The Plaza for decades, if not all their lives.

Bobby Shepherd, 77, has eaten there “off and on” all his life. “It’s almost like being at home,” Shepherd explained.

Cutter Knapp, 78, has been a Plaza customer since the early 1940s.

If Stamat Sampson does not have an appointment with his physician or is not sick, he participates in The Plaza round-table discussion group.

“The Lord does not hold it against you for lying here,” Sampson explained. “He holds it against you if you believe it.”

Wayne Dollar, at 78, described The Plaza as “a great place to visit.”

George Maggitas, 69, Plaza cook and family member, retired from the business five years ago, but he cannot stay away. He came to The Plaza in 1963.

“I’d be sick if I stayed home,” Maggitas, George and Angelo Mathes’ brother-in-law, said.

“It feels fine to me,” Maggitas said about the change in ownership. “I worked for a family. Now I’m working for another family.”

Poulos said he and other family members are grateful for the decades of support The Plaza has received. “That’s why it became a landmark,” he said.

Landmark is a description that surfaces frequently when former owners, the new owner and customers discuss the restaurant.

George Mathes is so accustomed to Plaza ownership that he opened the cash register one day last week, put in a dollar and retrieved four quarters to purchase a newspaper. He apologized to Regina for the unintentional intrusion.

“I feel that it’s still mine,” he said. “You can’t get it out of me. I feel like it’s my daddy’s, my uncle’s. They’re the ones who built it for us to have.”