The Dairy Queen and Sonic Drive-In, both in Warrenton, shut down unexpectedly late last month. Specific reasons for the closures are not known. Andy Hoffman, the county's public health specialist, confirmed that the closings are not health related. He noted his office has seen an increase of calls since both fast food facilities closed. "It's out in the public before it reaches me that these people are closing," he said. "None of the facilities have made contact with this office to let us know." Dairy Queen has been inspected frequently in the past year for failure to meet food service requirements, Hoffman said. He suspended the facility's operations temporarily for about a 48-hour period in late September when he visited the restaurant and noticed previously cited critical violations had not been corrected. The violations ranged from sewage and health issues to excessive ice on the freezer floor to the temperatures at which cooked food products are prepared. Hoffman said patrons of any eating establishment in the county should check with his office's monthly inspection report to view any violations. The report is posted on the Warren County Health Department's Web site (warrencountyhealth.com) and also monthly in The Record. "The suspension of a permit is a last resort," he said. "If (the public) sees continual critical violations and repeated violations within an establishment, they know this office is having compliance issues with that establishment." Hoffman said he conducts inspections at least twice a year at an establishment. Dairy Queen, however, had been visited on 13 occasions in 2008 prior to its permit being suspended. "Our objective is to work with the establishment so we have a safe food project for the people in Warren County and those visiting Warren County," Hoffman said. Attempts to reach Dairy Queen owner Thomas Clemens were unsuccessful. Dean Peters, director of communications for Minnesota-based Dairy Queen, did not have an explanation for the store's closing in Warrenton. He also was unaware of the repeat health inspection violations, including when the store had its permit suspended. "It's tough to keep businesses open and running," Peters said. The Sonic restaurant also recently ran into an inspection problem on Sept. 29 when Hoffman found several critical and noncritical violations such as the ice cream machine hoses and interior surfaces, soda nozzles, and can opener not being properly cleaned. Hoffman found no violations in his reinspection on Oct. 3. A Sonic company spokesperson based at its headquarters in Oklahoma said the Warrenton location is on the market. A location in Wentzville also recently closed and is for sale as well, she acknowledged. "We've been trying to sell it for a couple of months," said the spokesperson who declined to give her name.