On a cold and blustery Saturday in January, one of Tampa Bay’s most widely followed food influencers was outside an East Tampa grocery store, talking about running for mayor.
Anthony Gilbert, known as @callanthony_ on Instagram, stood in front of Kings 22nd Grocery & Meat in the Belmont Heights neighborhood, seemingly unfazed by the weather as patrons passed by, some with steaming foam cups of boiled peanuts with neckbones and corn on the cob.
Kings is one of the first spots at which Gilbert filmed a food review that really took off, he said.
“I just want to be a representative for the people that have been underserved for so long,” Gilbert said.
On Feb. 3, he announced he had filed to run for mayor on his Instagram page. Within a few hours, hundreds of positive responses hit the comments section.
Gilbert, 42, is an East Tampa native from the Belmont Heights neighborhood. He said he wants to change the narrative from many in his community who feel politicians don’t represent their most pressing needs. Gilbert has a lot of pride for the city he seeks to represent.
“You know, a lot of areas of Tampa are overlooked, like the area we’re in right now … and a lot of voters don’t come out and vote because they don’t feel their vote counts for anything,” he said on that day outside of Kings.
Gilbert’s reviews and features on social media of bodega and gas station food and local minority-owned businesseshave earned hima combined following of over 129,000 on Facebook and Instagram.That’s about double what he had thelast time the Tampa Bay Times spoke with him in December 2024. Gilbert did not allude to any political ambitions then.
“I was built here,” he said. “I do a lot of community outreach work. I do a lot of feeding the homeless, feeding the community, toy give-backs. I’ve been doing that for the last 15 years.”
Gilbert is one of seven candidates so far to file for the 2027 raceto replace the term-limited Mayor Jane Castor. Others expected to enter the race include former mayor Bob Buckhorn, who is an executive vice president at Shumaker Advisors; Bill Carlson, a Tampa CityCouncil member; and Gary Hartfield, vice chairperson of the Hillsborough Transit Authority’s board of directors.
A political committee supporting a Buckhorn candidacy has already raised more than $1.4 million, according to campaign finance reports.
Gilbertsaid he will run a grassroots campaign, with plans to become Tampa’s first Black mayor. He plans to host community-based events like concerts, shows and meet-and-greets. He also plans to roll out a fundraising campaign that the public can donate to.
Outside of Kings,Gilberttalked about working with Greedy Lee’s Barbecue, Llana’s Soul Food and other local restaurants in the aftermath of the 2024 hurricane season to help feed what he estimated were over 15,000 residents.
Gilbert expresseda desire to be more present in communities like East Tampa and Sulphur Springs than he thinks other local politicians have been.
A quick scroll through his Instagram showslively promotions for upcoming events, his reviews of local small businesses, and community outreach and activism.
Gilbertsaid he specifically chooses to featurebusinesses that are underserved, Black- and minority-owned, and that have been in the community for a long time and may not havereceived as much exposure as they should.
Going through the notes on his phone, Gilbert shared some of his priorities: addressing mental health support and outreach; setting up small business grants through Tampa’s Community Redevelopment Agency to revitalize storefronts along main roads in Tampa like Nebraska Avenue and 22nd Street; transforming public safety through community partnership initiatives with a focus on trust, transparency and safety, not just enforcement. He envisions the Tampa Police Department being more engaged with mentorship, sports and neighborhood events, he said.
Gilbert is focused first on getting voters in East Tampa registered and organized. There are roughly 45,000 eligible voters in District 5, according to the Supervisor of ElectionsOffice. Forthe last City Council election, only around 5,000 voted, Gilbert pointed out.
“I’m hoping they’re going to change that … it’s a big difference, because we want to see the change, but we have to participate in these elections,” he said.
Gilbert stays busy. Hesaid he has a restaurant in the works called Just Chicken that will focus on specialty chicken wings. He recently partnered with Rap Snacks, a national brand that features artists like NBA Youngboy, Rick Ross and Lil’ Baby on its potato chip bags and instant noodle cups. Gilbert helped Rap Snacks launch Big Back Honey Buns in Tampa and get them featured in sandwiches served atthe Snack Trap food truck at 2205 N. 22nd St.
Inside Kings, Gilbert greeted people as he made his way to the register. He facilitated an order of boiled peanuts with “everything,” describing the mixture with two words: “gumbo, basically.” A large neckbone rested on top as hot boiled peanuts and more neckbones stewed in a spicy, salty broth, savory steam wafting. The shop owners know him. One asked if he’s been “moving around.”
“Yeah, man. I’m everywhere,” Gilbert said.