From Deseret News archives:

Reno is South Philly star

Ex-Coug scores with patrons as a sports bar host

Published: Thursday, April 22, 2004 6:31 a.m. MDT
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"I don't know if there are many people like Reno in the world," Ciarrocci said. "He's so approachable and fun to be with. He loves to be around the public and it shows. My place gets pretty busy and it's impressive to people to be greeted by an Eagle football player who is so friendly and will sign autographs and make himself available. Obviously, I'm not paying him enough.

"His name is so easy to remember — Reno — and people are always calling him by name and he's always coming over, smiling and just being himself. The women keep saying he's so adorable, he's so sweet. Of course, he's a family man, but I hate it when he goes back to Houston."

Mahe flies to Philadelphia from his in-laws' house in Houston every Monday to work out at the Eagle training facility. When he's through for the day, he works the gig at Pete's. He then flies out on Thursday to be home with his wife, Sunny, and daughter, Evie, in Houston. The Mahes broke ground for a house in North Houston on Tuesday.

When Mahe returns to Houston on Thursday nights, he checks his computer for his Friday substitute teaching assignment. He is on call to work Fridays anywhere from kindergarten through the 12th grade for a Texas school district.

Mahe described the Philadelphia cafe as "humongous," with giant walls of TVs that broadcast sporting events all the time. The menu specialty is crab legs and crab fries.

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"It's the best," he said. "I think Pete patented the crab fries. Good thing I only work there three days a week or I'd have a heart attack from all the crab fries I eat. It's fun. I get to meet a lot of real South Philly people."

After Mahe's prime-time host job for Pete, he retires to an apartment rented by teammate Quentin Michael, where he sleeps in a spare bedroom. Michael recently got it furnished. Mahe's rent is putting together furniture for Michael, who doesn't like to do that stuff.

When Mahe first hooked up with Michael, who played at Boise State, Michael slept on a blowup mattress and Mahe used a mat on the floor in the spare bedroom. Michael later got a futon — which Mahe assembled — and Mahe inherited the mattress, which has a leak.

"I wake up a couple of times during the night when it goes flat and hit the button on the air pump and it inflates back up in a few seconds and I go to sleep until it goes flat after a few hours," Mahe said.

Last week, Michael's cousin dropped in for a visit and took the mattress. Mahe was back on the floor. "But this week, I'm on the futon, baby," he said.

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Yong Kim / Philadelphia Daily News

Reno Mahe runs against New York Jets in preseason game last year.

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