About Us

Jen and Steve Tyson here. We have always loved cooking and hosting family gatherings. In 2019, when we were pregnant with our first son, we spent a few weeks in Italy and took a pizza class in the outskirts of Rome. It sparked a passion inside Steve that expanded when we moved to New York City during the pandemic. In a city that was relatively deserted, sights and shops boarded up, one thing persisted - the pizza. We tried as many as we could across the boroughs. Our favorite pizza spot was only 2 blocks from our apartment, Baker's Pizza, only identifiable by a pink neon sign with dripping pizza and no words.

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When we moved to Traverse City to be closer to family in late 2022, we searched for our favorite slice. While there were many great pizzas to try, we were missing the New York pizza experience - fast slices open nearly 24/7, amazing homemade crust and sauce, high quality ingredients, ready to fold and eat, filling but not heavy. So we reached out to NYC - Baker's had since closed, but we found Jamie Cacace, former operations manager, and he was excited about our plan to bring NYC style pizza to northern Michigan. Steve and Jamie spent long hours on Zoom developing the startup plan and Jamie moved in with our family for a few months to help open the shop at 346 E. Front Street in the Coin Slot Arcade Bar.

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We named the shop after our favorite little pizza lovers, our two sons Trey and JJ, who were only 3 yrs old and 1 yr old when we opened in May 2023. They are so proud of Dada and love his pizza, and think it's hilarious when he comes home covered in flour.

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We make everything fresh, from scratch, and do not even own a freezer. We are especially proud of our flavorful cold-fermented crust and how our skilled pizzaiolos hand stretch each pie. We  top it with a pound of the best pizza cheese on the planet (Grande from Wisconsin) and parbake the shell. Then we add our special marinara and/or toppings, all the freshest top-quality ingredients, and bake again. The result is amazing fresh out of the oven, or for the true NYC experience, refired in the oven by the slice.