10 Days in Tosa showcases restaurants

If you've ever seen a restaurant in the Wauwatosa area that you've wanted to try but couldn't find the time or money to stop in, 10 Days in Tosa might give you the chance to try it.

10 Days in Tosa is an event with two goals, to showcase local dining options and to raise money for the Wauwatosa Chamber of Commerce. The event features dining options from local restaurants at the $5, $10 and $20 level. There are more than 20 restaurants participating in this event. Customers do not need to use cards, coupons or passes to take advantage of the discounts.

Dan Sidner, co-owner of Blue's Egg and Maxie's Southern Comfort, both of which will participate in 10 Days in Tosa, said "last year was a qualified success. It was a very different format from what we're doing this year. Last year we had patrons buy cards to participate and different restaurants had different offerings and it was too complicated. Now it's much more streamlined, each restaurant can make an offer at $5, $10 or $20."

The event is sponsored by a number of groups including, ITStaff Technical Resources, AmeriSign & Graphics, WeMerge Media, Wisconsin Public Radio and a number of local restaurants and groups.

Terry Estness, the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, said, "The program (last year) was very successful and generated about $4,000 in revenue for the chamber. The public's comments were strong enough to try to repeat it with some changes. The changes were modeled to fit the consumers and were modeled around downtown dining."

10 Days in Tosa will take place Sept. 10 through 19. Savings vary, but can be found by visiting http://10daysintosa.com/specials.html.

Sidner said that it was a priority for him that he makes an offer that's representative of his menu, adding "Talking to people on the downtown dining week (last year), the biggest complaint is that the other restaurants were doing something that wasn't representative of their menu to either showcase themselves or to save money. We pulled items directly off our menu and allowed guests to try them at a discount."

A complete list of restaurants that are participating and a complete list of sponsors can be found by going to 10daysintosa.com.