Elario’s to Cut Back National Acts : * Music: Noted jazz club blames tough financial times for its decision to focus more on artists from Southern California.

Blaming tough financial times, the owner of Elario’s, a haven for jazz lovers for more than 10 years, has decided to cut back on national and international jazz acts in favor of artists from Southern California.

Situated atop the Summer House Inn, Elario’s was one of only three clubs locally to bring big-name jazz stars to town regularly. The others are the Jazz Note in Pacific Beach and the Horton Grand Hotel.

Rob Hagey, who has booked acts in Elario’s for more than a year, expects to leave the club when his contract ends Feb. 2. He has been negotiating with an unnamed downtown establishment to set up a new club that would feature the type of acts he has been booking into Elario’s, from Sun Ra to Benny Carter.

On Wednesday, Summer House Inn owner Martin Mosier said that, in recent months, people have not been spending as much--nor ordering as many drinks--making it difficult for the club to spend money on touring acts.

“We’re cutting back everywhere we can,” said Mosier, who will book Elario’s acts himself after Hagey leaves.

Mosier and Hagey agree that the high cover charge, which often ranged from $7.50 to $10, made it difficult to draw large enough audiences for many shows to break even. Mosier said that cover charges will come down in the future.

“So many times the ticket prices prohibited a show from being a success,” Hagey said.

Mosier said that 90% of the acts featured at Elario’s after Hagey leaves in February will be from Southern California, but to say the club is going to stop featuring touring acts altogether is “absolutely inaccurate.”

Hagey said the Elario’s situation in no way detracted from his belief that San Diego can support a place featuring big-name jazz acts.

“I think you need to have a bar and other sources of income, other than the door, to make it work,” said Hagey, who could offer no details of his plan. “There needs to be a sense that the customer can feel comfortable in a room and that there is a sense of hipness in the room.”