From its modest start in 1923 until the chain's demise in 1987, Ohrbach's expanded dramatically after World War II, and opened numerous branch locations in the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas.

The success of the Miracle Mile store led the firm to open another branch in Downtown Los Angeles when it acquired the twelve-story Milliron's building at 312 W. 5th St., corner of Broadway in August 1953.

On November 3, 1962, it opened its third L.A.-area store in the Gateway Cities, at La Mirada Shopping Center, measuring 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2).

The architecture of the Cerritos and Glendale store featured an unusual tile façade to identify Ohrbach's in these new large malls.

Ohrbach's supplied clothing for the television soap operas The Edge Of Night, All My Children, Dark Shadows, The Doctors, the short-lived weekly drama Coronet Blue, comedies Mister Ed, I Love Lucy, The Donna Reed Show, and others.

In 1954, Ohrbach's moved from its Union Square location to West 34th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues across from the Empire State Building.

In 1962, the Netherlands based Brenninkmeyer Company bought an interest in the firm and increased its ownership until Nathan Ohrbach retired in 1965 and it obtained complete control.

The company's credit operations, also headquartered in the Newark building were moved to space in the firm's Bergen Mall location.

At the time of Ohrbach's departure the other department stores operating in Newark stated they were still committed to downtown, but they began closing in 1976.

[15] 24 years later, in June 1986, Brenninkmeyer's Amcena acquired Howland-Steinbach from Supermarkets General Corp, and announced the end of the Ohrbach's chain including the shuttering of its flagship store on 34th Street in Manhattan and the sale of all six locations in Greater Los Angeles.