A grassroots movement for the independent, locally owned businesses that make Kitsap County what it is, and against the chains, franchises and private-equity buyouts quietly swallowing them.
01 · Why we're here
When you pay a local owner, that money pays local wages, local suppliers and local taxes. When you pay a chain, a big share of it leaves the county the same day.
of each purchase at local independent businesses was recirculated locally, on average across studies compiled by the American Independent Business Alliance.1
of purchases at chain stores stayed local in the same studies, most of them by the research firm Civic Economics.1
02 · It happened here
The Auto Glass Plus sign on Bruenn Ave in Bremerton, with Safelite's name on the building. Photo: valueGLASS.
Auto Glass Plus was a local glass company with shops in Bremerton and Poulsbo.2 In May 2026, Safelite signed to take over Auto Glass Plus's Washington state glass contract for the Olympic Region, which covers Kitsap. State records now call it "Safelite (formerly Auto Glass Plus)."3
Safelite now lists a store at Auto Glass Plus's old Bremerton address, 555 Bruenn Ave.4 There was no press release and no announcement to customers. One day it was a local shop; the next, it belonged to the biggest auto glass company in America, which is itself majority-owned by a Belgian holding group alongside Wall Street private equity.5
Ask before you book: "Who owns this shop?"
A Vancouver, Washington chain of 23 shops in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, sold to Safelite in a deal that closed August 14, 2026, according to industry site glassBYTEs.6
A Bellingham-area family business since 1929. Its own website now says "Now part of the Safelite Family!"7
A Seattle company built over two decades, in Safelite's own words. Safelite bought its assets in October 2022.8
The full Safelite story, with every source, is at safelitesucks.info.
03 · The franchise trap
Buy a franchise and you don't really own your business. You rent the name. Headquarters sets the rules, takes a cut of your sales and can change the deal on you. Try to leave, and they may sue.
Take the windshield chain Novus, which has a franchise shop in Port Orchard:
franchise fee just to get in, with total startup costs of about $50,700 to $53,200, per Novus's own franchise site.9
of sales, reported as the ongoing royalty and advertising fees paid to the franchisor.10
federal cases we found in which Novus's franchisor sued its own current or former franchisees, mostly to keep them out of the glass business they'd built.11
In 1990, Novus started charging franchisees a new 2% national advertising fee. A Pennsylvania franchisee who had run his shop since 1980 refused to pay it. Novus terminated him, took him to federal court and won an order keeping him out of windshield repair across 10 counties for two years.12 In other cases, judges called a Novus non-compete "extremely broad" and refused to enforce it.13 Novus also won some; we list every case, win or lose, at Novus Also Sucks.
Novus itself is owned out of Quebec, Canada.14 None of these lawsuits involves the Port Orchard shop.
Franchises answer to headquarters. Independents answer to you.
04 · The price of a big name
Consumers' Checkbook, the nonprofit consumer guide that takes no advertising, sent undercover shoppers to get quotes from 27 Puget Sound auto glass shops for the same jobs.15 Here's how the Kitsap shops compared, plus the other Novus franchises.
| Shop | Who owns it | 2023 Camry windshield | Price score ($100 = average) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safelite AutoGlass | National chain | $956 | $162 · highest of 27 |
| Novus Glass, Redmond | Franchise | $873 | $138 |
| Novus Glass, Kirkland | Franchise | $873 | $123 |
| Novus Glass, Port Orchard | Franchise | $873 | $110 |
| Auto Glass Plus, Poulsbo | Surveyed as Auto Glass Plus, now Safelite | $710 | $86 |
| Auto Glass Plus, Bremerton | Surveyed as Auto Glass Plus, now Safelite | $687 | $83 |
| valueGLASS, Bremerton | Independent, locally owned | $527 | $70 · lowest of 27 |
All three Novus franchises quoted the exact same $873 for the Camry windshield. Safelite scored 62% above the average shop. Every Kitsap shop that was independent when surveyed came in below average.15
From Checkbook's table of 27 Puget Sound shops; its auto glass article was last updated June 2026. See the full table at the source.
05 · Local stories
Real experiences from Kitsap neighbors, owners and workers, shared with permission. Here are the first ones. Yours could be next.
Bremerton · Buyout
Auto Glass Plus served Bremerton and Poulsbo for years. In 2026, Safelite took over its state contract and its Bremerton storefront, and the Auto Glass Plus sign was still standing out front.
Shared by valueGLASS, Bremerton
Port Orchard · Franchise
A representative of Novus Port Orchard came onto valueGLASS's Facebook page and called its Afterpay payment option a "scam." A few months later, Novus Port Orchard started offering Afterpay itself.
Shared by valueGLASS, Bremerton · Full story
Silverdale · Franchise
Novus's own Facebook post said it "decided to close" its Silverdale location, but the listing stayed up on Google until valueGLASS reported it and Google marked it permanently closed.
Shared by valueGLASS, Bremerton · Full story
Your town · Your story
Run a local business that's competing with one? Work for a place that got bought out? Had a great experience with a local owner? We want to hear it.
06 · Tell your story
Every story on this site comes from someone who lived it. Share yours with the form, or just post it in the Facebook group. We may feature group posts here, but only with your permission.
Over a thousand Kitsap neighbors are already in the group. It's open: post your story, ask who owns a shop, or tell people where you spend local.
Sources
All sources were accessed October 28–29, 2026.