By Sonja Sharp and Mathew Katz
MIDTOWN — These people really like their burgers.
As torrential rain poured in Midtown at 6 a.m. Thursday, a crowd of soaked and disheveled people looked for shelter under the atrium of the Ed Sullivan Theater.
Next door, the neon lights of Midtown's newest burger joint, Steak 'N Shake, glowed.
The crowd — some of which had set up tents and shelters to create a scene similar to Occupy Wall Street's now dismantled Zuccotti Park encampment — were waiting for the new restaurant's 10 a.m. opening, when the first 150 customers had been promised free meals for a year.
"Fifty two free meals — that's a month's rent in Astoria," said actor Andrew Hodge, 25, an actor from Queens.
"At 1:22 a.m., I was on the corner looking at all these people and thinking I was about to make a terrible mistake."
But his friend, Charles MacEachern, 25 — who has never tasted a Steak 'N Shake burger — thought it would be worth it.
"We feel like everyone is going to be jealous of us at 10 a.m. when we have those tickets," he said.
Alex Dombroff, 25, from the Upper East Side, huddled under the Ed Sullivan awning as the rain poured down.
"Our original plan was to get here at 5 a.m., but friends psyched me out," he said.
"I went to school in Ohio. If you live in the Midwest, Steak 'N Shake is an integral part of your life."
Lisa Cao arrived at 6 p.m. Wednesday night.
"The weather was nice when I got here, and I was sixth in line," she said.
She was willing to wait 16 hours for something she'd never even tasted before.
"I'm a huge fan of Shake Shack," she said. "I know (Shake Shack founder) Danny Meyer is a huge fan of Steak 'N Shake. I figured if Danny Meyer likes them, I will too."
A woman who identified herself only as Wanda said she lived on the street, and a free meal a week would make life much easier.
"That's one less meal I have to scrounge for," she said.
For Adam Hamway, 29, a comedian and actor from New Jersey, the opening of Steak 'N Shake was enough to throw away months of work.
"I just lost over 30 pounds," he said. "But I think ... everyone should be able to indulge once a week."
But Rob Gorman, 30, and number 129 in line, knew that frequent fast food might make him pile on the pounds.
"If I eat salad the rest of the week, I think I'll be okay," he said. "I'd probably bloat up if it were every day."
