“I am jonesing,” Bret Sherback emphasizes each word as he steps up to the ordering counter on a recent Thursday at Trivelli’s Hoagies on North Nevada Avenue.

It’s just after 2 p.m. and Sherback, a longtime regular who for at least 20 years has been coming to the cheesesteak and hoagie shop founded in July 1976, needs his fix, he says.

Cars pass along the busy thoroughfare this midafternoon while owner Steve Trivelli gets to work throwing meat and veggies onto the flat-top griddle inside the about 380-square-foot restaurant, cooking up orders to go.

For 50 years, Trivelli has been doing what he loves: serving up authentic cheesesteaks and a variety of hot and cold hoagies — carrying on the legacy his parents, John and Barbara Trivelli, began five decades ago after his father retired from a 20-year career in the Army.

The Trivellis moved to Colorado Springs from the eastern U.S. in January 1976, when John Trivelli retired. By July of that year, the family had opened up their cheesesteak and hoagie shop.

“So my father had his dream of the Army for 20 years and so he said (to my mom), ‘OK, honey, now it’s your turn.’ And so my mom’s dream was a sub shop,” Steve Trivelli said.

Trivelli was 13 years old when he began working with his parents and four siblings at their family restaurant.

“I fell in love with the business immediately,” he said. “Mostly I loved getting to work with my father. That was amazing. And our customer base is awfully different. … When they come into Trivelli’s, we have way more friends than customers. We know a lot of first names. They know our names. We are serving second and now third generations of families. It’s a family-run business … and we just open our arms to everybody.”

The Trivellis grew their business by word-of-mouth, offering a top-notch product with authentic and locally sourced ingredients. Trivelli’s has a longtime relationship with Ranch Foods Direct in Colorado Springs and Sara’s Sausage in Palmer Lake, and orders authentic Amoroso bread straight from Philadelphia for its cheesesteaks. The recipes are tried-and-true, beloved family recipes. Ingredients are fresh and prepared every day.

“When we came here, nobody knew what a cheesesteak was at all. Nobody knew what a hoagie was at all. We had to introduce the food to the community, and it just grew from there,” Trivelli said.

It also brought a little taste of home to other Philly and East Coast transplants.

“We can bring any culture to Colorado Springs and that’s a great thing,” Trivelli said.

Four generations of Trivellis have now worked at the restaurant, which itself has operated in various locations throughout the city over the years.

Today, it once again operates at its original spot at 2739 N. Nevada Ave., a small drive-up shop attached to Murphy’s Tavern next door. Patrons can order their meals to go or eat their food at the tavern, which acts as an unofficial dining room for Trivelli’s.

Another Trivelli’s Hoagies on Austin Bluffs Parkway, which Trivelli’s brother sold in 2008, is a franchise location that uses different ingredients and offers some different menu items, he explained.

Longtime customers say the homemade food is what keeps them coming back, but also the friendships they’ve made with the family and their employees through the years.

“Steve’s a good guy. Every single one of them is. It’s good food and good people,” Sherback said.

Damian Todd, who has been coming to the shop on Nevada Avenue for years, agreed.

“I’ve always loved this place and their meatball subs. They’re kind people and great hosts,” Todd said.

Trivelli works hard each day to honor his parents and the legacy they built.

“That is what drives me every single day, trying to maintain what they built. And they did it with such love, care and compassion,” he said. “But it wasn’t really about the hoagies — it was about the people. They were very passionate about people. That’s really been what keeps us going, in that same vein. And we run the business the exact same way they did; we didn’t change any recipes. We didn’t change anything. People come in and have a great big smile. We’re very happy to see them. By the time they’ve left, they were happy they stopped by. As far as 50 years goes, I can’t even put into words what that means.”

To honor 50 years in business, Trivelli’s Hoagies is hosting a public celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the shop, 2739 N. Nevada Ave.

The restaurant is open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed Sundays.