ESCONDIDO - Aiming to significantly broaden their customer base, 11 downtown Escondido restaurant owners will try to attract diners who don't know about their eateries during the city's first "Restaurant Week" celebration, which begins Sunday.

During the 13-day event, which will run through Nov. 16, restaurants will offer three-course meals at discounted prices. Four upscale restaurants will charge $30 per meal, and seven other restaurants will charge $20 per meal.

"A lot of people still don't know we have this amazingly diverse group of first-class restaurants downtown," said Debra Rosen, chief executive of the Downtown Business Association, which is coordinating the event. "The restaurants aren't new, but we've found that many people have no idea they are there."

The restaurants are A Delight of France, 150 Grand Cafe, Vincent's, Bistro 221, Dominic's Italian, Joe's Italian, Taste of Florence, O'Sullivan's, Filippi's, La Tapitia and El Nopal.

Diners can try just one restaurant, all of them or some number in between, Rosen said. Reservations are required, she said, and the discounted prices are not available on Nov. 10. Prices do not include tax, gratuity or alcohol.

Mark Missler, who owns 150 Grand Cafe, said the goal of the event is to attract more diners from Valley Center, Pauma Valley, Rancho Bernardo, Poway and other nearby communities where many residents are unfamiliar with downtown Escondido.

"Most of our customers come from within a five- to 10-mile radius instead of 15 to 20 miles," Missler said. "Our marketing has been geared toward Escondido itself, so we want to try reaching more people outside the community."

Marketing for the event has included advertising in local newspapers, brochures in the business association's newsletter that was mailed out on Tuesday, and a direct mail campaign in the wealthy community of Rancho Santa Fe that is sponsored by John Andonian, chief executive officer of Evans Tire Co.

"I live in Rancho Santa Fe but work in Escondido, and whenever I bring my neighbors to lunch in Escondido, they are shocked at how good the restaurants are," said Andonian, who paid to have Restaurant Week brochures mailed to 3,500 addresses in Rancho Santa Fe. "I figured I should help the cause of exposing these restaurants to the people of Rancho Santa Fe."

The event should appeal to many diners who are reluctant to try new restaurants because they are unsure about prices and quality, Missler said. The discounted meals will allow them to sample some Escondido restaurants with relatively low risk, he said.

Diners will also get to see the other menu items available and the regular meal prices, he said.

"It will give them a chance to see that we serve great food that is not too expensive," Missler said.

Lisa Grumel, co-owner of Vincent's, said that planning the event has also helped unite the downtown restaurants like never before. She said cooperation will be key to making downtown a dining destination that people start talking about across the region.

"Working together like this has been really great, and I think it will help Grand Avenue evolve into a great dining area," Grumel said. "There's plenty of room for all of us to succeed down here."

- Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.