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‘‘It’s like eating in your kitchen, it’s comfortable,” said longtime regular Richard Gatto. ‘‘I go in there so much some people think I work there. ... I’m still waiting for a bad meal. I haven’t had one there in [more than 20] years.”

Gatto said he might have been the fourth customer there on the day Tim Murray opened T.J.’s 22 years ago. Tim Murray had worked in a family-owned Adelphi restaurant for 10 years, and was looking to open his own place when the Calverton location, a former pizza place, opened up.

Tim’s wife Karen initially kept up her old employment as a bank personnel recruiter, but she joined the family operation 10 years ago after the couple bought out their partner and friend Mike Thompson, who went on to open his own businesses.

But T.J.’s — named for Tim and his father and eldest son, both named James — still remembers Thompson, who succumbed to cancer last year, in their corporate name, T.J.M. Enterprises. That friendliness and family-like closeness pervades the entire business; it’s what draws and keeps customers as well as what the Murrays like best about their restaurant.

‘‘I feel like people do appreciate the hard work that we put forth and enjoy coming to the restaurant,” Karen Murray said. ‘‘We know a lot of our customers on a first-name basis; we know their birthdays.”

She also knows many customers’ favorite foods, and even sometimes calls them to let them know when seasonal favorites are in.

The Murrays’ initial vision — ‘‘just to serve really good, home-cooked meals,” Karen Murray said — continues today. Their menu is simple, not extensive, and features homestyle classics like barbequed chicken, seafood, steaks, burgers, sandwiches, pizzas and crisp-coated ‘‘T.J. fries.”

The homemade meatloaf is Karen Murray’s own recipe, and the homemade potato salad is Tim Murray’s mother’s recipe.

‘‘We really do make our food as though you’d be making it at home,” Karen Murray said, noting that their cook, Richard Perlmutter, has been with them since the beginning as well.

Popular dishes include the Maryland Pot Roast dinner — slow simmered, served with mashed potatoes and a rich mushroom gravy, and the vegetable of the day, for $11.99; the charbroiled chicken salad, served in a tortilla shell ($8.99); and the signature Calverton sandwich ($8.99), featuring seasoned, quick-fried boneless chicken breast on a croissant, served with fresh fruit, potato salad, coleslaw and honey mustard sauce.

Fresh fruit has always been featured on the children’s menu, because as parents of a 3-year-old back in 1985 the Murrays felt it was important to offer healthy alternatives for children. And the restaurant also offers seasonal specials, like beef stew in winter or crabcakes in the summer.

But T.J.’s is best known for its house specialty, barbequed baby back ribs — hand trimmed, slow-cooked, smothered in Texas-style sauce and served with coleslaw and fries, at $13.99 for a half rack and $18.99 for a full rack.

Gatto’s son’s favorite, the ribs are ‘‘out of this world,” said Gatto, though, being Italian, he prefers the chicken parmesan ($11.99).

Regular customer Mark Reid, who works nearby, said he visits three to five times a week for lunch.

In his opinion, their best sandwich is the turkey Reuben ($7.99), served with coleslaw instead of the traditional sauerkraut, though he also enjoys the California pizza ($9.99), which features garlic sauce, oregano, basil, spices, chicken breast chunks, tomatoes and four cheeses.

Reid’s whole office gives T.J.’s plenty of lunch business, he said — not only for the good food, but for the service as well.

‘‘I love it because the owners, Tim and Karen, are very nice people,” Reid said. ‘‘The young kids that they hire there are always very pleasant and do a good job ... with service.”

T.J.’s of Calverton

11607 Beltsville Dr., Beltsville; 301-572-7117;

Hours: Sunday, moon to 9 p.m.; Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.