“I was like, ‘this looks like it’s important,’” she said, “So I came downstairs.”

A crew from NBC wielding cameras and boom microphones had pulled up and then hopped out of a vehicle, she said, before coming into the store.

Elizabeth Hitchcock was in her office above the Bookery — the downtown Manchester bookshop and café she owns with her husband — on Tuesday morning when she noticed some hubbub on Elm Street below.

What the television network wanted was simple: to have a brief sit-down interview between Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC anchor Lester Holt, right there inside of her bookstore.


Hitchcock was happy to oblige.

“We’re always open and welcome to having civic discourse,” said Hitchcock, whose store window is plastered with the faces of the many candidates running for president. “And for people to talk about politics in our space.”

While Hitchcock and her husband, Jeremy, have been part of the Manchester community for more than 15 years, the Bookery only opened two years ago, she said — so their business is experiencing the rush and excitement of a New Hampshire primary for the first time.

Sanders’s last-minute appearance at the Bookery Tuesday drew a fairly large crowd, with many packing into the corner of the shop to hear what he had to say during his window-side chat with Holt.

Saba Janjua, a college student who comes to the bookstore often, said she overheard someone on the street say that the Vermont Senator was at the business nearby.

“I just came in, running,” said Janjua, “and there he was. I texted people, like, ‘He’s here!’…they can’t believe me.”

While Janjua is a “huge supporter” of Sanders, she said she can’t vote in this election cycle because she’s here on a student visa, and is waiting to become a US citizen.


Still, the experience of unexpectedly spotting Sanders out and about was exciting.

“In general, I’ve read about him and seen his conferences on television and I’m really impressed by what he says and what he talks about,” she said. “Especially about immigration.”

Seeing Sanders was equally thrilling for Bob Bowen, who traveled to New Hampshire from his home in Rhode Island Tuesday morning hoping to find a spot in Manchester to volunteer for the Sanders campaign for the day.

“I just got here an hour ago and found parking and I needed to have a lunch, and that’s what I did. I didn’t know he was going to come in,” said the 65-year-old, who had a “Bernie” baseball cap pulled down snug on his head, and had just finished eating when Sanders arrived. “It’s great. I’m pretty excited.”

After Sanders wrapped up his brief interview with Holt, he thanked spectators. Then he stepped out onto the sidewalk outside, where people started to holler his name and cheer for him.

Workers at a Coldwell Banker, across from the bookstore, spilled out of the front door and waved, shouting “We love you Bernie!”

Claire Crowley, 33, came bounding up to Sanders and asked him for a hug. She told the candidate she loved him and couldn’t wait to vote for him Tuesday.

“We were just walking down the street and happened to see him,” she said, after the hug. “Very exciting.”

Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear.