The financial crisis hurt the value of most stocks in the Restaurants industry, but with a closing share price of only $0.50 on October 6, Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. (GCFB) [Chart - News - Analysis] seems to have been hit especially hard.

Unfortunately for Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd., trading below $1 per share means not only that investors have lost a lot of money but also that the stock may be delisted from the NASDAQ.

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Here's how it typically works. If a stock trades below $1 per share for 30 consecutive trading days, the exchange will begin the delisting process.

For a while during the height of the financial crisis, the NYSE and the NASDAQ suspended their requirement that a stock remain above $1 per share or face the possibility of being delisted. However, on August 3, both exchanges reinstituted this requirement.

Of course, companies are not completely at the mercy of the market when they are facing being delisted from a major stock exchange. One remedy available to management is a reverse stock split, which would instantly bring the price of the stock back up above $1 per share. Naturally, this isn't always a popular move, but neither is being delisted.

- What Happens When an Exchange Delists a Stock

- Understanding Reverse Stock Splits

If you are concerned about Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. being delisted and would like to keep your money in the Restaurants industry, McDonald's Corp. (MCD) [Chart - News - Analysis] and Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. (WEN) [Chart - News - Analysis] are two of the biggest players in the industry.

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