City leaders in the northeast Georgia town of Braselton are asking Mayfield Dairy's parent company to reconsider its decision to close its visitor center.

Officials announced earlier this month that the dairy's visitor center, which has been toured by thousands of Georgia schoolchildren over the years, would close by Oct. 31.

The Gwinnett Daily Post reports that city officials want to work with the company to keep the center open. Councilman Richard Mayberry said it attracts tourists from many states.

Jamaison Schuler, a spokesman for Mayfield owner Dean Foods Co. of Dallas, said it was a difficult decision to close the visitor center but keeping it open had become economy unsustainable. Officials say the dairy is not closing, only the visitor center.

Tags: tourism, Braselton, Mayfield Dairy, vistor center