EAST FLAT ROCK - Drivers heading to East Henderson High School along Upward Road now see a huge milkshake cup with a name that may not be familiar to people in Western North Carolina: Dairi-O.

The fast-food chain originated in the city of King in the Central part of North Carolina and is now set to open its first location in the Western part of the state, according to Rusty LaRue, the chief operations officer for Dairi-O.

"This will be the farthest West that we'll have a restaurant. We just opened in Lenoir back in early November, but this one (in East Flat Rock) will be our most Western store once we get it completed," LaRue told the Times-News on Feb. 6.

The new location will be at the intersection of Upward Road and Old Upward Road, across the street from East Henderson High School, and construction is expected to be completed by mid to late summer, LaRue said.

"The location is a great one, and we're excited about being there," LaRue said. "We love to partner with the communities when we come in, and obviously, high schools are a big part of that. We've got the cup up there and we've started doing some grading, trying to start getting things going. We're just waiting for better weather to get going full go."

LaRue said the footprint for the East Flat Rock restaurant will be a lot like the new Lenoir location, with a double drive-thru.

If his name sounds familiar, it is. LaRue was a multi-sport athlete for Wake Forest University from 1992-96 and went on to play professional basketball for the next nine years. He earned an NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls in the 1997-98 season, playing alongside Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.

"It was a former life," LaRue said. "But I enjoy what I'm doing now, getting the opportunity to do what I do."

The restaurant chain began in 1947 in King as a take-out burger joint, selling hot dogs and hamburgers. Since then, Dairi-O has added more to its menu, with healthier options like specialty salads, grilled chicken wraps and even veggie burgers, according to its website (https://dairio.com/).

Other menu items available are sandwiches (fish, chicken, BBQ, BLT and grilled cheese), chicken tenders, chicken entrees (chicken sandwich, chicken Souvlaki, chicken wrap and grilled chicken pita) and also homemade soups, including chicken and rice, tomato basil, bean and bacon and chili beans.

Dairi-O also has ice cream and milkshakes, along with other desserts like ice cream floats, sundaes, strawberry shortcake, hot fudge cake and its classic banana split.

In 2006, the first sit-down Dairi-O was built in Rural Hall and it was torn down in 2021 and replaced with the new location in Stanleyville. There are currently 10 locations, and they are all in the Central part of North Carolina. They are King, Winston-Salem, Kernersville, Asheboro, Thomasville, Lenoir, Archdale, Mooresville, Clemmons and Stanleyville.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: New Dairi-O across from East Henderson set to be completed in summer