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Double C meets Double D.
Yankees ace CC Sabathia is throwing his weight behind a brash new Manhattan boob and beer joint as it prepares for a fresh round of brawling with Hooters, The Post has learned.
The burly Bomber has signed on as part owner of a new Canz-a-Citi Roadhouse restaurant set to open tomorrow night in Murray Hill. Subtly known as Canz, the small but ambitious chain is already warring with Hooters in Queens and on Long Island.
“CC and I have been friends for years,” said Steven Ferraro, who founded the brand with partner Tim Lorito. “This is a business venture for him. His two passions are food and sports, so this is a good fit.”
Sabathia is expected to attend the opening-night bash, but Ferraro said his pitching pal’s New York investment should not signal an intention to stay in The Bronx as CC decides whether to opt out of his Yankees contract.
“I have to take the fifth on that,” Ferraro said. “All I can tell you is that CC loves New York and he loves being a Yankee. We’ll see what happens.”
The Murray Hill venture has been kept secret from other bar owners in the area, Ferraro said.
“We wanted this to be a surprise to the neighborhood,” he said. “We put up plywood before we started work and people only found out about us opening at this location yesterday when we put up the sign. It’s exciting.”
With the focus of the mammary melee shifting to the heart of Midtown, the restaurant rivalry has induced Red Sox-Yankees bitterness levels.
Canz claims to have poached nearly 50 famed Hooters girls.
“They feel like they don’t have to change or evolve,” Ferraro said. “We’re refining and modernizing their model.”
Ferraro argued that Hooters girls grow tired of oppressive working conditions and constant pressure to stay rail thin.
“We have better working conditions, and that’s why they come here,” he said, adding that the Murray Hill staff is planning a press conference tomorrow that will present defectors in the flesh.
Hooters reps in Florida did not return calls for comment, but a Midtown Hooters gal said bring it on.
“The original is usually the best,” she said. “Queens and Long Island are one thing. Running a successful business in Manhattan is another.”