Where New York City Meets Northern Michigan (By Way of Naples)

In the kitchen with Two Sons Pizza

By Greg Tasker | Sept. 14, 2024

There’s no shortage of pizza choices in Traverse City. There’s wood-fired. Stone-fired. Flatbread. Detroit-style. Deep dish. And, of course, an abundant selection of pies from regional and national pizza chains.

But until Two Sons Pizza opened up on East Front Street in Traverse City, there was no authentic New York-style pizza. Well, at least none that matched what Steve Tyson remembered from his professional years in NYC. You know, those famous hand-tossed, thin-crust pies with wide slices you could fold in the middle because the crust is so pliable.

“That’s why Two Sons Pizza exists,” says Tyson, who opened the pizzeria with his wife, Jen, a short time after they moved their family to Traverse City and realized there was a niche to be filled in the local market. “I could not get the pizza here that I wanted. In New York, I ate pizza multiple times a week.”

He tried every kind of pizza in the region—from traditional pizza shops and pizzerias to breweries, bars, and small markets. He found them all good in their own right and realized there is a consistent style in northern Michigan, pies made with more dough, less crispy crust, and more toppings. None of them matched the traditional pies of New York.

“It’s one of the only things I truly missed from that area,” adds Tyson, who relocated at Christmas two years ago to Traverse City to be closer to relatives and to enjoy the outdoors and the slower pace of life. “I don’t miss the traffic and the cost of living in New York, but the city offers international cuisine at the highest levels, and the pizza is unequaled.”

Build Your Own Pizzeria

The Tysons didn’t open Two Sons on a whim. With a background in commercial construction, Steve did extensive research. Although he considers himself a pizza geek, he concedes he knew nothing about making New York-style pizza beforehand. Looking to replicate the style, he reached out to the owner of his favorite pizzeria back in New York and hired him as a consultant.

Tyson learned from his mentor but also tinkered, slightly changing the dough and the sauce. He calls his pizza a hybrid of New York-style and Neapolitan. His crust is firmer on the bite but chewy on the inside. His pizzas can also be super crispy on the outside with that perfect char.

Two Sons Pizza opened in a small spot in The Coin Slot, a popular arcade with pinball machines, other games and a bar, nearly a year and a half ago. The pizzeria is named after Steve and Jen’s two sons, Trey and JJ.

The Coin Slot location has proven ideal, providing an immediate customer base with the many game enthusiasts wanting food. Tyson revamped the kitchen (which had previously served other eateries) to meet his needs, including turning the bar into a display for the various slices of pie.

“It’s been a great opportunity for both of us,” Tyson says.

Jen Tyson, who is an environmental scientist, is a majority owner of the pizzeria and handles a lot of back office work. Steve is more hands-on and can be frequently seen behind the counter in the kitchen.

As part of the company’s business plan, Two Sons has partnered with Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. Its “Eat Pizza Plant Trees” campaign means for every 50-pound bag of flour purchased throughout the year for pizza dough, Two Sons has committed to planting a tree in the Grand Traverse community. Some 300 trees were planted in the region this past spring.

“I just thought this was a great initiative and something I wanted to do,” he says. “I believe every business should do something for the community, something outside the business. It doesn’t matter what it is. We picked trees because my wife is a forestry major and environmental scientist.”

From Top(ping) to Bottom

If you did the math on those tree plantings, you can tell these folks are making a lot of pizza dough. The pizzeria offers classic and creative whole pies at a massive 20 inches and slices just as big as you’d see in the Big Apple itself.

Grand Pepperoni is the most popular classic pie. Mushy Madness, one of their two vegetable pizza offerings, is a mushroom pizza topped with sauteed mushrooms, ricotta, basil, and truffle oil, and is a big hit. Specialty pies are crafted each month as well.

Among the signature pizzas are the TC Pie, consisting of house-smoked pulled pork, Two Sons Signature Cherry Barbecue sauce, and red and green onion, and the Smokehouse Chicken, with house-smoked chicken, bacon, and house ranch. ​Several pies are available by the slice every day. The sides include French fries, garlic knots, and Zeppelis, homemade doughnuts with powdered sugar and a nutella drizzle.

Two Sons makes almost everything from scratch, including their dough and sauce. Some pizza staples like mozzarella and pepperoni come from suppliers, but nearly all other toppings come from fresh ingredients, chopped and cooked daily by the kitchen staff. “There’s not a freezer in our shop,” Tyson says. “We’re fast and casual, an open-scratch kitchen.”

Two Sons uses a non-bromated flour for the dough, keeping unnecessary chemicals out of the food, and the sauce is made fresh daily, using just seven ingredients—three of them are spices. A smoker out back is used to smoke the pork and chicken for the signature pies, and the pork is smoked for 16 hours.

In addition to glowing reviews about the pizza online for both Two Sons and The Coin Slot, Tyson hears compliments daily from his customers.

“They say it’s the best pizza they’ve ever had, the best they’ve had since they moved here from wherever that may be,” Tyson says. “We’re always talking to new customers as well. It’s been an overwhelmingly positive experience, especially for such a novel concept for the area. We can’t wait to see what comes next.”

Find Two Sons Pizza inside The Coin Slot at 346 E. Front St. in Traverse City. (231) 463-6887; twosonspizza.com