Based in Kurfiss Sotheby's International Realty's Center City Philadelphia office, Karen Barone is licensed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and has the distinction of having helped David Charles Kurfiss open his real estate brokerage in New Hope, Pa., in the mid-1970s. Early in her adult life, Barone spent many years in the restaurant business as an owner and consultant to restaurateurs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut. She also worked for HBSA Industries, which was the largest privately owned store fixture company in the world. She was responsible for starting an import division and catalogue business and opening several retail stores in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. She also worked for Young & Associates, a public relations firm, where her accounts included tech companies and the U.S. Agency for International Development. On a lighter note, Barone was the long-time social columnist for the Trentonian, a Trenton, N.J., newspaper. Her business experience made her return to Kurfiss Sotheby's International Realty an excellent fit. Barone resides in New Jersey and has a daughter and two grandsons.