From obscure to sold out: The story of Four Seasons Total Landscaping in just 4 days

Just a day after the Philadelphia family business became the unlikely backdrop for a belligerent Trump campaign press conference, its owners cashed in on the viral fame — and even crossed party lines.

• By Miles Bryan/WHYY for NPR

(Philadelphia) — Four Seasons Total Landscaping wants to “Make America Rake Again.”

Just a day after the Philadelphia family business became the unlikely backdrop for a belligerent Trump campaign press conference, its owners cashed in on the viral fame — and even crossed party lines.

On Sunday night, the company rolled out a line of T-shirts, hoodies and stickers, featuring the slogans “Lawn and Order,” and its riff on MAGA.

On Monday, it started offering face masks as well.

By Tuesday, everything had sold out.

Four Seasons’ pivot to apparel had clearly paid off. The company posted on its Facebook page that it was temporarily suspending sales of most of its items due to lack of stock.

“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support we’ve received! You all are amazing!” the post said.

It’s still not entirely clear how the Trump campaign ended up holding a press conference in Northeast Philadelphia near a sex shop, a crematorium and a jail. The hoopla was kicked off Saturday morning with a Trump tweet about an event at the Philadelphia Four Seasons.

That message was quickly deleted and a new tweet clarified that instead of the swanky downtown hotel, the presser would be held at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping, a business which offers services such as mulching, weed control, pruning shrubs, leaf removal, among other jobs.

At the press event, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed without evidence that Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania was due to voter fraud. Four Seasons Total Landscaping declined requests for comment.

Whatever its original motivation, the company is capitalizing on its fame by pitching itself to consumers from across the political spectrum.

Not only is it offering “Make America Rake Again” and “Lawn and Order” merchandise, but has also “liked” and retweeted a number of left-leaning accounts. And for those who don’t care for politics, it offers a picture of its parking lot as a Zoom background.

Wendy Gordon, a Philly expat now living in Washington, D.C., ordered a Four Seasons T-shirt Monday. The Biden supporter said she never wants to forget that surreal half-hour on Saturday when a week’s worth of election anxiety finally started to dissipate.

“It’s so funny, and so just completely innocuous and random and silly, that it was kind of like a collective exhale,” said Gordon, 60.

By Tuesday morning, much of the Four Seasons Total Landscaping seemed back to normal, except for a small memorial to Saturday’s events outside the front door — a few candles, and some flowers.

The business continued to attract a steady stream of tourists.

“It’s interesting, it’s definitely very industrial. A big pile of dirt and an old building,” said Brian Gannon, a 42-year-old Virginia resident who had come to Philadelphia for a doctor’s appointment.

Zoe Grobman, a Philadelphia-based graduate student, trekked across town with a friend to check out the now-iconic business.

“[We are here] to see the newest Philly landmark,” the 27-year-old said.

Grobman, who had already purchased a Four Seasons T-shirt said the fact that the press conference ended up here of all places speaks to what she loves about her home city.

“The moral of the story is, like, don’t mess with Philly,” she said.

Aficionados of the landscaping business now have another event to look forward to: On Nov. 29, runners can take part in an 11-mile charity run from Four Seasons Total Landscaping to the Four Seasons hotel inside the Comcast Center.