Veteran survived war, Hurricane Katrina to rebuild life in Antioch

When Antioch's Roger Craig first came to California a couple of years ago this was supposed to be his starting-over point. After coming home as an Iraq-Kuwait War veteran, he decided to work in construction in Louisiana. Everything was going well for the single dad until Hurricane Katrina hit his home parish and his family lost everything.
While one would think that jobs in the construction field would be available after the hurricane, Craig said they were not, leaving him to look for an alternative. During his time in the military he met other veterans who had moved to California and settled here. At the time construction jobs in California were plenty, which convinced Craig that California was the place to be. Unfortunately, soon after he came to California, the housing market bottomed out and there were no construction jobs here either.
That didn't get Craig down, though. With the help of his friends, Craig looked for yet another alternative. He liked California and being close to friends, so he decided to stay and look for a new profession. During his search he came upon an idea about opening a different type of retail clothing store.
"I don't believe in looking back," Craig said. "I have to look forward for my kids' sake."
On Sept। 11, Craig opened his new business on A Street called Fabulous Finds. The premise behind the business is to offer closeout bargains on clothes for men, women and kids. The items he sells are not used,but overstocks from famous retailers like Macy's, Dillards, J.C. Penney and Sears. The clothing and accessories come in all sizes, even extra large.
Craig has taken his business one step further than offering clothing. He also has found a source for camping items, home goods and pet supplies.
"The one thing I really like about this business is that I get to give back to the people who need it, "Craig said. "People shouldn't have to go broke to be able to afford really nice clothing."
Craig said that starting up a business is never easy, but he believes his key to success will be finding the best products he can find, at the best prices available. He is always looking for new items to offer. When he found that several of his customers were looking for larger sizes, he went out and found the sizes they needed. He is also working on bringing in more electronic items and camping, home and pet supplies.
"The nice thing is this isn't a thrift shop; everything here is new, just over-stocked," he said.
Fabulous Finds is at 1706 A St. at the shopping center on the corner of A and East 18th streets. The store is next to Mr. Pickles. Hours for the store are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call Fabulous Finds at 978-9909.