Arguing that it is too costly to remain a public company, Grill Concepts Inc. on Tuesday said it plans to ask shareholder permission to cease registration of the company's common stock and stop trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

The struggling Woodland Hills-based upscale restaurant chain, whose shares now trade below $1, said it wants to focus the company's resources on increasing long-term stockholder value. The company anticipates annual savings exceeding $750,000 as a result of deregistration and delisting.

The company, which operates The Grill on the Alley and Daily Grill restaurants, announced in October that a dozen top executives would take a 10 percent pay cut to help offset the effects of the ailing economy. Chief Executive Philip Gay said then that the company would suspend its ambitious expansion program until the economy recovers. The company reported a third quarter net loss of $11.1 million, compared to a loss of $589,000 a year ago, as same-restaurant sales fell.

To deregister the shares, the company will need to reduce its number of stockholders of record to below 300 via a reverse stock split that has been endorsed by directors. The stock split will be considered at a shareholders’ special meeting expected to be held in the first quarter of 2009.

Grill Concepts shares on Tuesday closed down 5 cents, or 8 percent, to 70 cents. The share price has fallen 83 percent since the beginning of the year.