President Obama hit the campaign trail on Wednesday, attempting to boost awareness and whip up support for Rep. Ed Markey, a Malden Democrat running for U.S. Senate. Before his speech at the Reggie Lewis Track Center in Roxbury, Obama stopped at Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe, where he apparently ran into former state Rep. Charlotte Golar Richie, who is running for mayor.

Official White House photographer Pete Souza later tweeted this image, which includes a cameo by one of Richie's daughters, Kara, on the far left.

POTUS greets patrons at unannounced stop at Charlie's Sandwich Shop in Boston. twitter.com/petesouza/stat…

— petesouza (@petesouza) June 12, 2013

Jim O'Sullivan, a reporter for the Boston Globe and former Dorchester Reporter news editor, was one of the pool reporters for the president's trip. His dispatch from Charlie's is below:

After uneventful ride from Logan to Boston's South End neighborhood, POTUS, without jacket, entered Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe, a venerable neighborhood eatery. Also jacketless was Congressman Markey. The governor kept his jacket on.

POTUS shook hands and hugged several diners, and took time to encourage them to vote in the June 25 special Senate election. "I know it seems like there's an election every other week," POTUS said. "Do you know Ed Markey?" he asked one woman before encouraging her to vote for Markey. POTUS emerged at 12;11 p.m. and waved to cheers across Columbus Ave.

The diner is blocks from where POTUS aves spoke at an interfaith service following last month's Boston Marathon bombings.

Pool now rolling to Reggie Lewis Center