Pizza king Dan picks up a slice of the action with his first city restaurant

With pizzas selling out as soon as slots went live and even a Michelin-starred chef travelling to the city to get his hands on one of the pies, Midnight Pizza Crü was one of Sunderland's lockdown success stories.

- by Katy Wheeler

Named after late night pizza nights owner Dan Shannon would have with his mates after gigs, the Detroit-style pizza brand has maintained its following throughout the past five years with popup nights.

Now, MPC has its first dedicated restaurant as part of the revival of the Bridge Hotel Vaults on the corner of High Street West and Sunderland Street.

As the pub-which gave new life to the old grand townhouse built for the wealthy Lambton Family in 1797-goes from strength to strength, the pizza restaurant has been created in its own space behind the pub.