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    Wright's Dairy Rite

    4.3 (192 reviews)
    Open 10:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Wright's Dairy Rite Photos

    Business Info

    WRIGHT'S DAIRY RITE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Loud
    Dogs allowed
    Good for kids

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    J David H.

    Wright's Dairy-Rite was founded in March of 1952 by Forester and Alka Wright in Staunton, VA. The business was then only a small frozen custard store, similar to the popular Dairy Queen stores of the time. By the mid 1950's, the Wrights had begun to offer limited hot food items and had enlarged their building. By the end of the 50's, Dairy Rite had been transformed into a full menu Drive-In restaurant similar to Doumars. Dairy Rite was a popular hang out for children of the 1950's and 1960's and continued to grow and expand. Forester passed away in 1972 and his wife Alka in 1973. The business then passed on to their daughter Shirley and son-in-law James Cash. To this day Wright's Dairy-Rite continues to be operated by James (Elwood) Cash and Shirley Wright Mckee, who added a large dining room in 1990. Visitors to Wright's get to experience the food and atmosphere of a by gone era with speaker or the red telephone ordering from your car or table. Wright's continues to offer delicious homemade specialties, including homemade onion rings, hand pattied burgers, footlong hotdogs, Malts and Sundaes, just to name a few. The extra thick milkshakes are to die for. My Super burger with onion rings were pretty tasty. Everything is prepared fresh and cooked to order like they've been doing it for over 60 years. Recently voted one of the top 10 original Drive-In Restaurants in the Nation.

    Wright's Reuben
    Tracy A.

    Great experience. We ate inside at a booth. You order on a red telephone. Your food comes in 20-ish minutes. After that, they come to check on you to make sure you have enough ketchup and such. Fun time!

    Hot Dogs
    John C.

    Our group stopped at Wright's as the final hot dog in a 7 day hot dog road-trip. We pulled into one of the drive-in spots outside and took our time to review the menu. The menu is large but the font is not. My eyes are bad so I had to get out of the car to review the choices. We went with a blend of sweet and savory. Hot dogs and milkshakes. We pressed the button on the call box and placed our order. It took a little bit of time but eventually a friendly worker brought our food out and took our payment. The hot dogs tasted good but the one with chili, mustard, and onions kinda looked like it had been manhandled. The other looks great. The chili had good flavor and the buns were soft with a nice chew to them. The milkshakes were all just ok. My chocolate tasted like it was made with soft serve chocolate instead of hardpacked. Not a strong chocolate flavor. Mom liked her banana milkshake. My aunt was disappointed with her raspberry milkshake. The menu said they used real fruit but the raspberry flavor in her shake tasted pretty artificial. The lack of those little raspberry seeds also suggests that actual raspberries weren't used. Overall, it was a fine experience. The burger menu looking particularly appealing so I might visit again in the future to try a burger.

    Fried chicken sandwich
    Leslie V.

    Classic establishment with loss of charm. Booths, stools, outdoor seating and a drive in style dining available. You sit down at the booth, look through the menu and then pick up the phone to order. Fries came out very hot which I appreciate. Only thing I would change is that they offer Coke products over Pepsi. Loads of classic ice cream desserts. The classic banana split looked amazing.

    Burger & pineapple milkshake! So good!
    Shannon b.

    This was such a cute place! The food was great! & so were the milkshakes! The service was great too..everyone was very kind & helpful!..

    Sandy S.

    These are the kinds of places we like to find on the road, and Wright's was especially unique with its history and vibe. We ate inside and the room was decorated with fun, vintage decor. Ordered at the counter, and the staff was friendly and welcoming. Our order was brought out to our table in about 10 minutes (the menu advises you that it's not a "fast food" restaurant). Stuck to the basics, but they were all quite yummy -- burgers were great, also loved the onion rings and tater tots. Really enjoyed it and would stop again if we were nearby.

    Trish K.

    The food is what an old diner should be! They take cash, credit as well. The outside has a drive up, where you order and they bring the food out to you. They have seasonal milkshakes. Kids menu which my kid loved her meal. The onion rings are made fresh daily. Nice size and crunch. Still looks like what I'm guessing is the original atmosphere. Totally a 50s vibe to it. Looked like a lot of locals and regulars so you know it's good!

    Chicken Basket
    Sean K.

    This place is a cozy find that really sticks to the old diner feel. Staff is very respectful as well. The food is definitely the star of this restaurant though. The photos don't do it great justice but flavor is king. This place has everything you would want from a diner. Great burgers, shakes, and great prices. I live far from this place but if i'm ever in the area i'll definitely try to come eat here again.

    Chocolate malted shake
    Caryna F.

    Old fashioned goodness right here! Our delicious pork bbq sandwich arrived in wax paper. Haven't seen that since I was a child. Added milkshakes to our meal. I got a chocolate, double malt. Service was cheerful and friendly. If you want to go back in time, be sure to stop here. Prices are reasonable. Menu looks awesome. We will be back.

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    2 months ago

    We took our grandsons and had a great time. The servers were all friendly and the food was good and a good value for the price.

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    2 months ago

    Great vintage place from 1952. Amazing double Decker burgers and chocolate banana shakes. Cute vintage decor. A step back in time.

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    1 year ago

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    4 months ago

    Amazing service, the food was so good, didn't take too long, and the food was very fresh. Amazing Job!

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    3 years ago

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    8 months ago

    Delicious food, great service. I think the turkey club might be my favorite, but have not had anything that wasn't delicious.

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    10 months ago

    Everything is delicious, especially the onion rings...cooked to perfection. The pastrami Reuben and cheeseburger were topnotch!

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    1 year ago

    Great food options and friendly service. A fun place to eat with affordable prices. Have been dining here for over forty years.

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    2 years ago

    My family and enjoyed the food. Fresh burgers and lots of flavors for shakes. The 50s theme was a fun touch Great stop. .

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    1 year ago

    Had a butterscotch Sunday and a peanut butter cup writes flurry both were great. Did the outside car-hop service.

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    4 years ago

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    The By & By Cafe and Beer Garden - Bacon, egg, and cheddar on an everything bagel

    The By & By Cafe and Beer Garden

    4.0(88 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $

    If you're looking for a chill and cool place that resembles Bill Hader's infamous Steffan character…read morefrom early 2010's SNL that also delivers one of the most excellent bagels I've had east of the Mississippi (but west of the Potomac), this place is for you. The back patio provided an utmost serene experience in one of the chillest corners of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The temptation to order a cheeky pint at 10am was real!!! Stay strong. Get the bagel Sammy.

    My partner and I came in this morning for bagels and coffee. The place has a cool vibe and is…read morecomfortable. It was pretty crowded, so we grabbed a table outside in the front. But a customer inside kindly came out and said they were leaving, offering us their inside table. (There's also the beer garden outside in the back for seating, which looks like it would be nice and comfortable.) I got an everything bagel with hummus and tomato. My partner got everything bagel, scallion cream cheese, tomato ($0.85 for tomato) and lox ($6 for the lox). Although everything tasted good, we both noticed that the bagels were really, really dense, tough and chewy. Like uncomfortably tough and chewy. My partner left one half of their bagel uneaten and I didn't finish mine. It looked great and the hummus and cream cheese and other toppings were fine, but the bagel was really, really tough. I'd like to believe that it isn't because the bagels were stale, but the thought crossed my mind. The coffee I had (dark brew) was outstanding, served in a nice, large mug. Excellent! Service was efficient. I considered a four-star review because the coffee was outstanding, but the bagels were really disappointing. It's too bad. It looks like a cool place, but their main food item appears to be bagels. Maybe it was a one-off, but I spent over $26 for two bagels and one coffee, and I don't plan to come back to find out.

    Photos
    The By & By Cafe and Beer Garden - Interior

    Interior

    The By & By Cafe and Beer Garden - White chocolate mocha. Asiago bagel with egg and cheese.

    White chocolate mocha. Asiago bagel with egg and cheese.

    The By & By Cafe and Beer Garden - Interior

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    Interior

    Wright's Dairy Rite - icecream - Updated August 2026

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