‘It was surreal.’ Former President Bill Clinton stopped at this Columbus BBQ spot on visit

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Columbus on Monday to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid, and made a stop at a popular local restaurant while in town.

Located in east Columbus at 213 Northstar Drive is Chester's Barbecue, where the smell of smoking barbecue fills the air.

"It was just a regular day and then they said in 30 minutes Bill Clinton would be here, and we just thought it was a joke," said Tj Coppage, son of Trent and Toya Chester, who own the restaurant.

"They said 30 minutes and then in five minutes you just heard the sirens," Coppage said.

Coppage said the area was blocked off when Clinton came in.

Coppage said the restaurant provided the former president with a little bit of everything on the menu, including ribs, chicken, chipped chicken, chipped pork and collard greens.

"It was surreal," Coppage said when asked how it felt having Clinton visit. "We didn't believe it at first."

After meeting Clinton, Coppage described him as " ... pretty laid back and cool." Clinton told the people at Chester's about a barbecue restaurant in his hometown, according to Coppage.

"Nobody would think you would ever see a president on this side or in here in the flesh," Coppage said. "To have a president on the east side of town is still surreal."

When asked how people have reacted, Coppage said, "you see the crowd," referring to business at the restaurant Wednesday.

"I don't know if it's from payday or it's because he came," Coppage said. "We normally have a crowd anyway. It just picked up a little more for it to be a weekday."