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    Wright's Dairy Rite

    4.3 (186 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

    Wright's Dairy Rite Photos

    Business Info

    WRIGHT'S DAIRY RITE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Loud
    Dogs allowed
    Outdoor seating

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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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    Hot Fudge Cake
    Erra G.

    Great and fun place to go for ice cream, milkshakes and food. My nephews food came in a fun little paper car, he ate the whole cheeseburger which is always a good sign. I had the fish fillet sandwich, which was fried crispy and good. We got dessert to go, their hot fudge cake with vanilla ice cream. I would ask for the ice cream on the side, as I didn't know it wouldn't be packed as such, so of course it melted... But was still good. Their staff were also very friendly.

    Michael T.

    It has been years since I stopped in to Wrights and it's just like stopping back in 1950! Although I wasn't alive the service fun atmosphere and quality of food still abound from a time gone past! Whether you pull into the authentic drive in spaces and order your food through the voice box. Or you choose to set a table using the phone to dial in your order while listening to Your Favorite music. The staff is extremely friendly, helpful, and fast. It's amazing. The prices ever remain as low as they are considering the skyrocketing inflation over the past three years. If you want a taste of America, serve with a smile and an amazing milkshake. Stop and write grab yourself a burger or a dog and have a fantastic time.

    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.

    Some of the most delicious onion rings I have ever eaten
    Shaun B.

    My visit to Wright's Dairy-rite is based on a love story. Not mine, but my Aunt who more than 50 years ago as a starving college student, was courted by her beau who took her on dates to Wright's. His generosity won her heart and he became her husband for life.Hearing that story, I was excited to visit the place where it all began. Wright's Dairy-Rite is a historic drive-in shake shop that has maintained a fun, up-beat atmosphere steeped in historic, Americana straight out of the 1950s. The decor is vintage and so authentic, I almost expected to see bouffant and pompadour hair-dos on the other patrons. A little do-wop music would have been right at home. We used the historic telephone on the wall to order our food. The telephone was more vintage 1980s than 1950s but I'll give a pass since many today would be confounded by a telephone that doesn't sit in your pocket. The food was delicious. Burgers were juicy and thick. The hot dog, smothered in chili was also tasty. The onion rings were some of the best I've ever had; thick juicy slices of fresh onion coated in a crispy fried batter. Unlike many places there was no oil saturation or greasy taste or feel. We ordered butterscotch, chocolate and strawberry milk shakes(two were malted). All were fresh made, with quality ice cream and were very flavorful. Wright's is very affordable. The total cost for our group of four was about 14.00 per person for burgers onion rings, sodas and shakes. It is obvious why this business has remained a Staunton landmark for more than 70 years. With its fun atmosphere, friendly service, quality food, and affordable prices it will undoubtedly be in business for at least 70 more.

    Molded hot dog bun

    My family visited Wrights expecting a fun time and good lunch. After eating half of my hamburger I noticed my grandson's hot dog bun was molded. I immediately stopped eating the rest of my meal. Another family member, having finished his meal went to the bathroom and threw up with the thought of eating as molded bun. I showed the molded bun to the manager and she would only refund the hot dog stating I couldn't prove my burger had mold on it. We were not able to finish our meal and our family time was ruined by this upsetting experience. We were looking forward to dessert and my grandson was cheated out of the dessert that came with his kids meal.

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    23 days 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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    5 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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    7 months ago

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

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    2 years ago

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    9 months 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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    1 year 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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    11 months 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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    2 years ago

    Best burgers around and the t nostalgia of an old drive in is just cool. My wife hasn't been. I'll be taking her soon.

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

    An all-time classic. Prices have remained low somehow. Superburger and onion rings as well as shake are all great

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    2 years ago

    Cute old-timey dairy bar. Order from the phone at your table! Excellent malts. Great spot for lunch.

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    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.

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