Chef David Grossman opened Branch Water Tavern in 2009 to much acclaim.: Photo: Cody Duty

David Grossman is ready for a new chapter for Branch Water Tavern.

The chef who opened the modern American restaurant in late 2009 has agreed to let a new owner lease the Branch Water Tavern space at 510 Shepherd. For two months Grossman will remain on as executive chef to ensure a smooth transition. During that time the space will retain the name Branch Water Tavern, but when Grossman leaves, he’s taking his brand with him. He hopes to open a new BWT this year but in a more casual format with a lower priced menu.

“For the next location I’m looking for a lower price point, like a Branch Water Bar and Grill to make it accessible to a broader clientele. We’re going to tweak it a little bit. I want to be in a place where I’m speaking to a larger group of people,” Grossman said Monday.

Grossman said Matt Brice, of Bistro Des Amis in Rice Village, is the new lessee of the Branch Water Tavern space. It is not known what type of restaurant he will operate there or what it will be named. For two months the food will not change and Brice has contracted with Grossman to retain certain items on the new menu, the chef said.

“I’m happy that everyone comes out a winner,” Grossman said. “The people who have invested in me are getting paid, I’m getting paid, the buyer is getting a great value for a terrific restaurant that is beautiful, a clientele and a staff. No one is losing their job. But everyone as of tomorrow morning is working for a different company.”

Grossman said he and his fiancée Julia Sharaby are looking for a new location for BWT and for multiple locations for Fusion Taco, a bricks and mortar version of the taco truck that Sharaby launched in 2010.