Clinton spoke to about 300 supporters in the parking lot of Troutman's Bar-B-Q restaurant and pumped hands inside the restaurant afterward.

"I've been supporting her from the beginning," said Riefstahl, 35, a Concord medical technologist.

She said she likes Clinton's stances on foreign policy and health care.

"I thought her husband was a good president," added Riefstahl, a registered Democrat.

Harry Turner, president of the Cabarrus Senior Democrats, said Clinton's visit to Concord was the first by a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter flipped pancakes at what was then the Cabarrus County Boys Club in 1976.

"I'm here in Concord because I need you next Tuesday," Clinton said of the N.C. primary.

She promised to create new jobs, an appealing message for an area devastated by manufacturing job losses, including thousands when Pillowtex textile plants closed in 2003.

"I thought the economy was working pretty good in the 1990s," she said of her husband's tenure in the White House.

And in a veiled reference to Democratic opponent Barack Obama, she said, "When you hire somebody, don't you usually look at their résumé?"

Listening in the crowd was Mike Curtis, 38, a Concord Democrat, who said he likes Clinton's experience. He voted for George W. Bush twice.

"I think they really screwed up Iraq once they got in," Curtis said. Besides the estimated 300 people outside, another 150 were crammed into the restaurant. Some had waited for hours.

Clinton worked through the crowd, shaking hands, hugging supporters and posing for pictures. Here and there, she would say, "Have you already voted? ... I need your help to do it!"

Alex Almeter, 16, and Jackie Almeter, 14, sisters who attend Robinson High School, were holding "Students for Hillary" signs.

"She was very different than how she appears on TV," Alex Almeter said.

"She seemed very genuine," said Caroline Ford of Concord, a UNC Charlotte student with a poster saying: "I'm 22 and I'm voting for you Hillary."

"We don't judge books by their covers," Ford said.

"I heard some girl say she would vote for (Obama) because he was cute," said Anita Honeycutt, 21, another UNCC student from Concord.

After 45 years of serving barbecue on Church Street, the restaurant was hosting a presidential candidate for the first time, said Raiford Troutman, 82, who also owns two other restaurants with his wife, Margene, 77.

Before leaving for Charlotte, Clinton got a takeout box with barbecue, hush puppies, slaw, hot and mild sauce and three bottles of water.

"I wanted to fix a pretty basket, but (Clinton staffers) said she wants what we serve to the public," Margene Troutman said. "She's just one of the girls."