Good Brews Make Us Hungry

Toby’s Dog House and Two Sons Pizza serving up American eats at Silver Spruce

By Geri Dietze | April 18, 2026

One brewery, two dining options. Silver Spruce Brewing on Eighth St. in Traverse City now hosts Toby’s Dog House food truck (originally started in the U.P.) and is the new home for Two Sons Pizza (previously found at The Coin Slot).

“People have been very eager to try something new with Toby’s Dog House as well as revisit Two Sons Pizza who…already [has] a great reputation in the community,” says Silver Spruce co-founder Leah Tyrell, noting that at least one vendor is always open during taproom hours and that the duo of eateries has increased traffic at the brewery.

Make Every Day a Dog Day

Toby Smith of the eponymous Toby’s Dog House took a circuitous route to Silver Spruce from his longtime home of Florida.

After deciding that he was “too old” for the restaurant grind, Smith earned a teaching degree in special ed, teaching for two years before moving to Manistique, where his family has roots, to be closer to his mother. When he looked at teacher’s salaries, he realized that he could “do better [selling] hotdogs on the street,” so that is precisely what he did, dealing his product out of an 11-foot refurbished travel trailer.

Before long, Smith had expanded into a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Munising, while garnering a large collection of 5-star reviews on Google. “The business took off,” he says. “I was booming.” Then his sister in Traverse City told him about a Facebook ad looking for a food truck to set up shop at Silver Spruce. “I’ve gotta give this a whirl,” he thought.

Toby’s Dog House opened for business that December, and even though we don’t think of winter as food truck season, it didn’t seem to matter, as Smith is known to sell 150-200 sandwiches a day. “When the sun breaks out, the place is mobbed,” he says. And the location is a plus, with Smith citing the “fabulous patio” and proximity to the walking and bike trails and the library.

Toby’s Dog House serves Michigan’s Koegel brand hotdogs (on a recommendation from Toby’s grandmother in Flint) and Maxbauer’s brats with about a dozen varieties of toppings and some very clever names. (You can also design your own.)

Try the New Yorkie, with authentic Coney sauce, using a recipe straight from Coney Island, NY, circa 1961, topped with cheddar, onion, and yellow mustard. The Windy City Weiner has sliced tomatoes, relish, onions, and sport peppers, the tangy Chicago staple; the Porky Pug is topped with BBQ pork and grilled onions; and the German Shepherd comes with grilled sauerkraut, grilled onions, and spicy brown mustard. Sports fans will appreciate the Roaring Lion, in honor of the team, with blue cheese crumbles, bacon, and grilled onion.

There’s more, but we can’t forget fresh-pressed Cuban sandwiches, gyros with chicken, steak, or traditional lamb, and lobster rolls (currently on special) with lobster purchased from a closely guarded source. Tacos feature chicken, steak, or the Korean Street Tacos with shaved steak or chicken, Korean BBQ sauce, sesame Asian slaw, and pickled cucumbers.

Expect a nice selection of sides and bar bites, and look for new additions for the warmer months.

The Inspired Slice

Steve Tyson and his wife, Jen, of Two Sons Pizza really love pizza, so his move from commercial construction to the purveyor of New York style pie makes this a labor of love with a deep commitment to quality.

Inspired by a pizza-making class during a 2019 trip to Italy, followed by a move to New York City for business, Tyson developed his taste for the authentic NYC slice. The Tysons did their “research” throughout the city’s boroughs, sampling the wide array of choices until finding their favorite—with just the right flavor, crust, and heft—at Baker’s Pizza in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.

When they moved to Traverse City in 2022 to be closer to family, they searched for the same experience, but to no avail, so they decided to create their own. By then, Baker’s Pizza had closed, but the Tysons connected with the former operations manager and pizza chef, Jamie Cacace, who helped them bring New York style pie to Traverse City, first through lengthy Zoom sessions, and then in person when Cacace moved to TC temporarily to help set up shop at The Coin Slot on E. Front St. where they had a great run.

When the lease was up, the Tysons moved Two Sons into the renovated kitchen space inside Silver Spruce Brewing.

The Two Sons recipe is based on fresh, from-scratch ingredients and preparation, including their bromate-free cold-fermented crust. (Bromate is an industrial flour “improver,” and you don’t want it in your pizza, or anything else, for that matter.) Instead, Two Sons lets the mix of flour, salt, water and yeast work its magic the way nature intended, and the cold-ferment process is slower, allowing for a more complex flavor and enhanced texture.

Each pie is hand-stretched, covered with a pound of artisanal mozzarella from Wisconsin’s Grande Cheese Company and then parbaked, because NYC-style pizza, generally sold by the slice, holds up better in the case. Homemade marinara and toppings finish the process, and then the pie is baked again, resulting in a flavorful, textured experience whether you choose the whole 20-inch pie straight out of the oven or a generous slice quickly refired.

The Grand Pepperoni, covered with crispy cup pepperoni, is the big favorite. But there are so many more: Mushroom, Baked Eggplant, Homemade Meatball, Hawaiian, the Graffiti (Two Sons version of the Supreme), and Jamie’s Bianca Pie, with caramelized onion base, fennel paprika sausage, ricotta, and finely chopped parsley.

Keep an eye out for the return of two signature pies: the TC with pulled pork and the Smokehouse Chicken, currently dependent on accessing a smoker at the new site.

The Tysons are excited to see how the new location plays out across the seasons—a busy day sees 120-180 sales—while at the same time, positioning Two Sons for more growth. They recently opened a store in downtown Grand Rapids, a city they love for its food, entertainment, and culture.

Two Sons also partners with the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy to make a positive impact with its "Eat Pizza Plant Trees" initiative, a nod to Jen Tyson’s background in environmental science and forestry. For every bag of flour purchased by Two Sons, GTRLC plants a tree, currently at 700 plantings.

Beer + Food

What’s the secret to pairing brews with food?

“It’s good to make sure the pairings don’t overpower... but rather create a nice balance,” Leah Tyrell of Silver Spruce explains. “We typically recommend something crisp and light to go with pizza and hot dogs, such as our Bohemian Pilsner or New Zealand Pilsner.” She adds, “There is a Silver Spruce Brat on Toby’s menu that has sauerkraut and pairs nicely with the Vienna Lager.”

Along with the regular brewery line-up, patrons can expect a rotating draft list which changes monthly and keeps things interesting: “We [like] to feature a seasonal release like our Irish Lager or Hefeweizen alongside staples like the German Pilsner and at least three wild and sour ales,” says Tyrell.

Visit 439 East Eighth St. (or their second location at 2770 Silver Lake Rd. with food from Francisco’s Market). silversprucebrewing.com