Stivers Restaurant this year celebrates its 55th anniversary.

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Chelsea, Mich. is wholesome — and not in a condescending, Anthony Bourdain kind-of-way. There’s an element of haute snobbery in Washtenaw County (I am certainly not talking about its affinity for a certain ubiquitous deli, no, not at all), and Chelsea is happily its tonic, a tight knit community comfortable in its cornbread-caked skin. And though I-94 cuts precariously near it, though it’s home to two international stars — “JIFFY” Mix and Jeff Daniels — it remains a town that Frank Capra’s George Bailey would be proud of: homey, sweet and welcoming to newcomers and old friends alike.

Heck, it even has a coffee shop called Zou Zou’s Café.

Similarly, its restaurants — The Common Grill, Chelsea Grill and Cleary’s Pub among them — also lack pretension. A postcard of Chelsea chumminess is Stivers Restaurant, located on Fletcher Road outside of town. Celebrating its 55th anniversary, Stivers fans extol its prime rib and famed Playboy-lauded liquor.

In doing research for this piece, I realized that Chelsea and its restaurants lack coverage, lack a central resource of restaurant profiles and histories. Maybe it’s because we’re too focused on Ann Arbor to appreciate our neighbors to the west. For that reason, Chelsea’s own “Cheers,” a place that has seen history fly by on Chicago-bound truck beds, deserves a moment of recognition. Fifty-five years, after all, is nothing to sneeze at.

Current part-owner Dan Smyrnis bought Stivers in 1987 from its original proprietor, Guy Stivers. According to Smyrnis, the original location was a motel off of US-12 but moved some thousand yards after the opening of I-94. It thereby became a spot frequented by bleary-eyed travelers much like its predecessor.

“There weren’t too many places to stay or eat around back then,” said Smyrnis, “During a snowstorm, for example, Guy would let people sleep.”

Picture it: Snowflakes — as fat as Bedford Falls snowflakes — cotton the night. The highway becomes a deathly Slip N Slide prime for jackknives; jalopies and semis, enameled in slush spritz, thankfully pull off for respite. The outside of Stivers, just as today, looked like home, a colonial turned eatery perfect for toe-warming and face-stuffing.

The same holds true 55 years later. While Smyrnis doesn’t provide rooms for weary drivers whose Five-Hour Energy shots have worn off, he does treat all of his customers — whether lawyers, doctors, farmers or drivers — like friends.

“People love to get together here. You know, meet each other and talk,” said Smyrnis. “A lot of people tell me we should change our name to ‘Cheers’.”

Proud of its meat n’ potato fare — perch, cod fish, barbecue ribs, roast beef, you know, stuff that the “Top Chef All-Stars” panel would snub — Stivers emulates the Chelsea modus operandi, one akin to Capra’s fictional hamlet.

Stivers, like Chelsea, promotes community and kinship; Zou Zou’s was even mentioned in the dialogue of “Best of Friends,” a play written by Jeff Daniels which recently premiered at Chelsea’s Purple Rose Theatre Company.

Some in our county hold swank in high regard. Some model their food off Manhattan patisseries, sushi bars and fusion joints. Stivers and Smyrnis, however, are fellas who value the basics — a comfortable menu prepared by comfortable people at a place where everybody knows your name. A place like Bedford Falls.

Here’s to 55 years and counting. And here’s to George Bailey.

Jessica Levine profiles the culture and history of Washtenaw County restaurants for AnnArbor.com. Contact her at jlfoodstuffz@gmail.com.