Tourists flock to Four Seasons Total Landscaping after Giuliani debacle
Once far off the beaten path in northeast Philadelphia, the snappily named Four Seasons Total Landscaping has become fertile ground for selfie tourism since November’s presidential election.
The owner of the commercial gardening company has spoken out about her “overwhelming” experience, after the business went down in political infamy as the backdrop to a bizarre Trump campaign press conference on the day that the president lost the election to Joe Biden.
In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Marie Siravo said the business, which offers a range of grounds maintenance services, had been besieged by visitors, gifts and even requests to host weddings.
“Not a day goes by where there’s not a crowd outside,” Siravo said.
The unprepossessing Four Seasons Total Landscaping office found itself the subject of international attention when Donald Trump’s election team chose it to host a press conference contesting the results of the election.
Rudy Giuliani was the main draw at the event, where he made baseless accusations of fraud and, mid-event, learned that Joe Biden had been declared the winner.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” was Giuliani’s response, adding that judges would decide the result, not voters.
Since Giuliani’s 8 November appearance, fans of Four Seasons Total Landscaping have reportedly sent the business cheesesteaks, gift cards, fruit baskets and even beard oil, Siravo said. And tourists have worn a trail to her door, posing and posting pictures of themselves on social media, or spoofs such as the now-disappeared Utah metal monolith/desert litter superimposed in front of the premises.
At Thanksgiving, two sisters met outside Four Seasons Total Landscaping for their holiday meal, Siravo said, while a woman brought her children to stage their holiday card photo with the business as the backdrop.
Others have requested selfies with the business’s branded vehicles, and some have asked if they can hold a
party or even wedding at the business, according to the Inquirer.
“This is a construction yard, that’s a liability,” Siravo said drily. The press attention has led to one change, however.
“It did make us paint the back of the building, because we said, ‘Who knew that our garage doors were going to be the back of every Zoom meeting?’”
Four Seasons Total Landscaping, which is memorably located next to a sex shop, swiftly became a byword for politicians’ incompetence and a source of hilarity after the press conference, as people speculated as to whether the Trump campaign had confused the business with the Four Seasons hotel, located in downtown Philadelphia.
Trump himself lent weight to the idea of mistaken identity when he tweeted, then deleted, that the press conference was at “Four Seasons, Philadelphia”.
Four Seasons Total Landscaping poured water on the theory, however.
“That’s not the case,” said Sean Middleton, director of sales.
“I gave them the address, I said where we were, where they can meet us, and that was that.”
Four Seasons Total Landscaping moved swiftly to capitalize on the interest. The company expanded its merchandise range to include tree ornaments, sweaters, hoodies, and face masks.
Demand has been high, with the company reportedly selling more than 35,000 products since the Giuliani appearance, totaling $1.3m in sales.
“The response is overwhelming, that there’s still so, so many good people in the world, and they got to laugh with this,” Siravo said.
“And it was nothing we anticipated.”