When Mike Broncucia opened Mickey's Top Sirloin about 50 years ago, unincorporated Adams County was a very different place.

Large cottonwood trees surrounded Clear Creek where it ran by his restaurant, not industrial companies; there were no major roadways or thoroughfares to attract passing motorists; and he relied on well water and outside toilets.

At the time, the 24-year-old Broncucia was helping his mother run the family's grocery store at 6950 Broadway Street after his father's health began to fail. He converted part of the store into a bar with six booths soon afterward, where he and his mother sold homemade pizzas and sausage sandwiches.

From then on, he said the restaurant “took off like fire” as the surrounding Perl Mack neighborhood began to develop.

About a year later, he hired a cook named Joe Martinez, who introduced Mexican food to the menu, including the restaurant's signature tacos, burritos and enchiladas. It wasn't until 1965 that Mickey's employees began serving the restaurant's signature steaks.

The construction of Interstate 25 and Broadway Street in the following years gradually changed and shaped the area's landscape, but Broncucia's commitment to quality food, reasonable prices and personal, friendly service hasn't budged.

“People love him,” said Broncucia's granddaughter Stacy Hamilton, who now manages the restaurant. “The customers are his family and his friends, they're not just faces. This area is odd in a way because it's just so industrial, but the community as a whole is very close.”

“I still remember running around the restaurant as a little kid,” she said. “I just can't imagine it not being here.”

Broncucia credits his success to the personal connections he and his staff developed with longtime food distributors and customers who have continued to return over the years.

Thornton resident Side Wittemore said he has stopped by the restaurant several times a week for the past 35 years and continues to return for the good food and friendly faces.

“Everybody here treats you like you're a member of their family,” Wittemore said. “They're phenomenal and greet you like you're a long-lost brother.”

This year, Mickey's Top Sirloin's fourth annual Summer Bash will coincide with its 50th anniversary celebration 2-7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19. Admission to the event will be $7, including the buffet, with the restaurant's signature pig roast. For more information, contact Mickey's Top Sirloin at 303-426-5881.