The moment Tom Drumheller set foot inside the historic Mill A building in Bend’s Old Mill District, he knew.

”This is Cousins’,” restaurant manager Kyle Genin recalls the owner saying.

And several months later, it was.

But what is Cousins’ besides one of Central Oregon’s newest restaurants?

Cousins’, which occupies the same space that Honkers used to be in, has staked out the middle ground between Bend’s upscale eateries and the legions of fast food purveyors. The restaurant began operating less than two weeks ago, a ”soft” opening without any big advertising campaigns so employees could work out the typical kinks.

Cousins’ is family fare with a twist. It’s a little bit country and a little bit corny. Which is a good thing, according to Genin.

”With all the restaurants in this town, it’s different,” Genin said.

Different indeed. From the menu brimming with ”comfort food” right down to the ”Hi cousin” greeting reserved for each and every patron and the farm animal sounds emanating from the front entrance. ”Corny really pays off,” said Genin. ”We want you to come in and feel like you’re at home here. This is a good place for families to break bread.”

Residents of the Columbia River Gorge have been doing just that for the past 13 years at Cousins’ Restaurant in The Dalles.

Owners Patrick Nofield and Drumheller also operate two hotels and a restaurant in Cannon Beach (Ocean Lodge Inn at Cannon Beach and Driftwood Restaurant).

Cousins’ specialties include home-style pot roast (served with taters, carrots, onions and homemade gravy, $11.99), roast young Tom turkey with dressing (served with mashed potatoes and turkey gravy, $11.49) and meat loaf (served with mashed potatoes and gravy, $9.49).

”The chicken fried steak is my absolute favorite,” said Genin. ”We make killer white gravy.”

Cousins’ also offers a full roster of burgers and sandwiches (Aunt Vera’s pot roast sandwich, $6.99, the round house Reuben, $7.49, and the healthy cousin vegetarian sandwich, $4.99).

There are also six salads (Cousins’ makes its own dressings from scratch), appetizers and a batch of desserts. They include country apple pie, marionberry pie, coconut cream pie, cinnamon rolls, bread pudding, apple crisp pie and homemade cookies.

Breakfast is served all day.

The restaurant conducted a job fair about three months ago, interviewing 160 people and hiring about 70.

”We have a great crew,” said Genin. ”The cream of the crop … We want to make sure everybody’s enjoying their jobs. That reflects on the atmosphere … and the total experience.”

Genin said the management team’s goal is eventually to open a dozen Cousins’ around the region.

Meanwhile, the Cousins’ team in Bend is buzzing about its newest entry.

”It’s an awesome building,” said Genin. ”What a venue. We offer fun, good food and good service. With all those elements, we can’t lose.”

Jim Witty can be reached at 541-617-7828 or jwitty@bendbulletin.com.