Neelam Indian restaurant in Macquarie Street, Parramatta, has won Parramatta City Council’s competition to produce the ‘Best Dressed Business’ display. The competition was held to celebrate the visit of Indian composer A.R. Rahman at Parramatta Park on Saturday 16 January.

The owner of Neelam Restaurant, Mr Gyan Chand, received his prize of a full-page free advertisement in the Parramatta Advertiser and a double pass to Sydney Festival events from the Lord Mayor of Parramatta Cr Paul Garrard.

“Saturday’s concert was a spectacular event and was made all the more successful by the way in which local businesses became involved and helped to showcase Parramatta as a welcoming and inclusive city,” said Cr Garrard.

“We had Italian, Greek, Malaysian and Chinese restaurants all dressed in the colours of the Indian flag in a show of genuine togetherness, which was a great example of the messages of understanding and goodwill that A. R. Rahman gave at his concert.”

“I would like to congratulate all of the local businesses who took part in such a great spirit of friendly competition. They all contributed to the biggest event yet seen in Parramatta that has demonstrated once again our city’s ability to stage highly successful and safe large scale events,” said Cr Garrard.

Neelam’s winning display saw the restaurant decked out from floor to ceiling in balloons and streamers, and banners hung outside welcoming A.R. Rahman. They also provided two Bhangra Indian dancers and a dhol player to entertain the many visitors to the area.

“We were very pleased to support this Council initiative and it is great that Parramatta can attract this calibre of event,” said Mr Mr Gyan Chand. “Everything was really well organised and a lot of people who attended the concert came into the city for a meal or drink.”

The second and the third prizes were awarded to Stephanos Retaurant on Church Street and The Chocolate Room on Phillip Street respectively. The judges – Lord Mayor Cr Paul Garrard and the President of the Parramatta Chamber of Commerce Mr Trevor Oldfield – commended both establishments for going the extra mile and dressing their premises with Indian themes.

“All businesses that participated put in a great effort, so it was a very hard decision to choose just the top three,” said Mr Oldfield. “Overall though I think Parramatta as a city was the winner and will have gained widespread recognition from the coverage of the concert and associated activities.”