Founded by Michael Seifert - a Danish entrepreneur, inventor, businessman, and computer programmer -PublicSquare began as a San Diego-based startup before relocating its headquarters to West Palm Beach, Florida. It launched officially on July 4, 2022, and has since grown into a national marketplace with more than 55,000 listed businesses. In July 2023, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PSQH. The company brands itself as a platform to "restore the culture through the power of commerce," listing businesses that explicitly align with conservative values, including opposition to abortion and support for traditional family roles.
Before businesses can join PublicSquare, they must affirm that they share the platform's stated values and refrain from supporting causes that contradict them. Among the platform’s board members is Donald Trump Jr., signaling a close tie to the Trump political orbit. With Donald Trump's return to the White House, the site’s visibility has grown - and so has its unintended utility among critics.
Locally, PublicSquare lists a number of food and beverage businesses across San Diego County. These include Everbowl, Cafe Virtuoso, Flippin Pizza, STP Bar-N-Grill, Taste of the Himalayas, Tony Pepperoni Pizzeria, Oggi's Del Mar, Rigobertos Taco Shop, Cookie Plug, and The Mad Beet in Pacific Beach. Other local businesses include King Stahlman Bail Bonds, San Diego Reformed Church, New Leaf Realty, and The Guzman Group, among many others.
What began as a directory to help like-minded consumers support pro-Trump businesses has recently become a tool used by others for an entirely different purpose: identifying companies to boycott. On platforms like Reddit and TikTok, users are spreading the word about PublicSquare and how it can be used to avoid supporting businesses that openly align with MAGA politics. In San Diego, social media users have circulated the names of local restaurants listed on PublicSquare as part of informal boycotts.
Despite PublicSquare’s stated mission to support values-based spending on the right, the site has inadvertently fueled values-based consumer activism on the left. What was intended as a resource to strengthen conservative commerce has become, for some, a political roadmap of where not to spend. PublicSquare executives have not publicly addressed this reverse usage of their site, but critics say it underscores the reality that political alignment in business can be a double-edged sword - attracting loyal customers, but also galvanizing opposition.
In San Diego and across the country, the cultural and political divisions playing out in Washington are increasingly visible in everyday consumer choices - including where to get pizza, a smoothie, or a cup of coffee.
Originally published on May 6, 2025.
