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[lepidopteran]

How many places can you think of where you can see two (or more!) of the same business?   At ground level.

One of the first places that comes to mind is probably McDonald's, since they're like, everywhere.  Many roadgeeks can likely think of a location where you can spot two high-mast signs between freeway exits.  At one time, at the I-70/I-75 interchange, it was possible to see arches at the Vandalia exit to the north, and the Huber Heights exit to the east; not sure if you still can due to tree growth and construction.
A puzzling example is in Severna Park, MD, where there are two McD's on opposite sides of Ritchie Highway (MD-2) and less than a mile downfield.  One is actually on Baltimore-Annapolis Rd (MD-648), but just about at the corner.
https://www.google.com/maps/search/mcdonald's/@39.0789677,-76.5490213,919m/data=!3m1!1e3

This can sometimes happen with gas stations.  In Rockville, MD, there are two Shell stations almost right across MD-355 (Rockville Pike) from each other.  There used to be a third Shell directly across sidestreet Rollins Ave. from the northernmost one, but that was demolished and replaced with stores.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0581613,-77.1214177,243m/data=!3m1!1e3
I seem to recall this also happened in Port Washington, NY, on Long Island, where there were 2 Getty stations across a sidestreet from each other on PW Blvd (NY-101).  One is now a lube place, and the other is an Exxon (with the sign awkwardly squeezed into a Getty frame).  https://goo.gl/maps/49yzqV2cEZ52
In New Jersey, there were two Exxon stations on opposite sides of Route 33 near the turnpike.  Both were around since Esso days.  One was in the gore area where Monmouth St. used to branch off and has been gone for some time (possibly due to the construction of NJ-133).  The other was at the corner of Milford Rd., and was only demolished recently -- specifically to make way for the relocation of Interchange 8 on the pike.

The award has to go to 7-Eleven, in Manassas, VA, where there are two stores right next door!  Granted, one is a classic 7-11 with the gabled roof, while the other is a modern gas station setup with the c-store in the middle and a roof over everything.  Yet they both seem to stay in business.  (There used to be a third one just down the street, but that's now a AAA service center.)
https://goo.gl/maps/NsJwKD6tEUq

One of the Shrek movies parodied this with Starbucks.  When there was some disturbance, all the customers ran screaming out of one "Farbucks" shop, and race into another one right across the street.  I'm not sure that I've seen this, though; what I have noticed is multiple stores in close proximity that sell Starbucks coffee and have exterior signs indicating such, but only one, if any, is a dedicated Starbucks.

(Apologies if this thread was done before, but I did a search and could not find.)

[Big John]

In the South, one could see 2 Waffle House restaurants.

In the Mattress Firm thread, those could be seen on the same corner until they filed for Chapter 11 to close redundant locations.

[Max Rockatansky]

There used to be two McDonalds in Ford Road/M-153 just off if I-275, I’m not sure if both are still present.  In Key West you could see the marque for two Publixs on Roosevelt Boulevard/US 1 and Kennedy Drive. 

[1]

North Station, Boston: Two Dunkin Donuts inside.

[Takumi]

Chester, VA: two Starbucks. One freestanding and one inside Target. They’re about a quarter mile apart, but are visible.

[texaskdog]

In Minnesota SuperAmerica bought 7-11 so they have many instances of being across the street from each other. 

[oscar]

Some years ago (probably the late 1990s), in downtown Seattle I saw an intersection with Starbucks on all four corners. However, I can't pin down whether that's still true, or which intersection (probably near the Federal Building, where I was working on a case).

[ErmineNotyours]

The Movie Best In Show mentioned one character meeting another character by seeing him in one Starbucks from another Starbucks.  This was based on a real pair of Starbucks in Vancouver, BC where the movie was filmed.

[TheHighwayMan394]

In Minnesota SuperAmerica bought 7-11 so they have many instances of being across the street from each other. 

I associate this with Holiday more than SA. North Branch for some reason has *three* of them; two east of I-35 which are across the street from each other, and one on the west side. Duluth has two Holidays roughly flanking the corner where I-35 ends.

In WI there are places where Kwik Trips co-exist on the same corner, likely where a new larger store was built to supplement an smaller, older unit and the two units coexist together.

[Bruce]

Seattle is full of Starbucks locations, obviously.

In the Columbia Center, the city's tallest building, there's two locations (one on the 1st floor, another on the 40th floor skylobby). The tower to the northeast has its own ground-floor location, and the tower to the east has another ground-floor location. These three towers are linked via an underground passageway, so you can actually walk between the four Starbucks without setting foot outside.

[Rothman]

Got to be places where you see mattress stores near each other.

[noelbotevera]

Got to be places where you see mattress stores near each other.

That really narrows it down. I hope you don't mean the whole United States.
In all seriousness, this constriction isn't true in my town, though a close but no cigar case exists; here is a former Sheetz's location. Assuming it is still a Sheetz (and it was prior to 2015 or so), way off into the distance you can barely see the other Sheetz. It's past an overpass and I can make out (what seems to be) a red column from the GSV.

[jp the roadgeek]

A couple of current and former instances I can think of:

1. In my town, there is a Subway on one side of CT 10, and used to be one in the Walmart in the plaza directly across the street.

2. There are 2 Dunkin Donuts almost within sight of each other near I-84 Exit 31.  If you are on the street parallel to the northern one, you can see the southern one over a slight rise.  However, office buildings and trees obscure the view from the actual building, and you can't see the southern one from the northern one because the rise obstructs it. 

3.  In the old Hartford Civic Center Mall, there used to be 2 Wendy's locations (one upstairs, one downstairs; both visible from center court)  because the one downstairs would often overflow on event nights.  The upstars one was called "Wendy's Too"

4.  Just about every hotel on Canal St in New Orleans has a Starbucks location in the lobby, so you can see about 3 or 4 of them. 

5.  A pair of Verizon company stores.  One is in Corbin's Corner plaza, the other is inside Westfarms Mall directly across CT 71.  While you can't see the location inside the mall, the mall and plaza are directly in sight of each other.  In my town, there are two Verizon authorized dealers across from each other on CT 10.

6. Several instances of service areas on either side of current or former toll roads (ie the Mass Pike, NY Thruway, I-95 and CT 15 in CT) with the same food counters, gas stations, and convenience stores from which you can see the other.


 

[Flint1979]

In Dearborn there's the two Kroger stores across the street from each other on Michigan Avenue.

Kroger has another almost same thing in Roseville although you can't see both stores from one spot they are within a mile of each other. One is a relocated new Marketplace on the site of an old Kmart that caused the two stores to be located even closer together.

In Bay City and probably several other places as well two Admiral gas stations within a block or two of each other.

[txstateends]

In Dallas, at the Winslow St. exit on I-30, there were 2 Circle K's (NW and SW corners) and 2 Shells (NE and SE corners).  Now the 2 Shells are still there, but the NW corner Circle K closed and the site was redone and opened as a Starbucks.

After 7-Eleven bought the DFW-area ExxonMobil corporate station/c-store locations a few years ago, there were instances of existing 7-Elevens in view of a converted Exxon or Mobil that became 7-Elevens.  This happened in 2 spots north of downtown Dallas; one old/new set is closer together than the other.  None of the stores in question have closed, including one of the old ones that doesn't have gas pumps.  So apparently there's enough room in that part of town for all of them.

In Van, east of Dallas on I-20, an existing Love's was on the NE corner for years.  For some reason, Love's decided to spread their wealth there, and added another full location on the NW corner, with even more food choices.  In conjunction, an adjacent Fairfield by Marriott was built there as well.  So far, both Love's are still open.

[formulanone]

Another Starbucks-upon-Starbucks, in Houston Texas. Lewis Black made a (NSFW) rant about it back in 2001-02.

Closer to my home, two Mapco gas stations have thrived side-by-side in Madison, Alabama.

[Roadgeekteen]

Lots of mattress places

[cabiness42]

I've seen several pairs of Speedway gas stations within sight of each other.  One pair occupying two corners of IN 19 and CR 20 in Elkhart, IN.  I have to assume that one of each pair used to be some other brand that got bought out by Speedway. 

[texaskdog]

In Minnesota SuperAmerica bought 7-11 so they have many instances of being across the street from each other. 

I associate this with Holiday more than SA. North Branch for some reason has *three* of them; two east of I-35 which are across the street from each other, and one on the west side. Duluth has two Holidays roughly flanking the corner where I-35 ends.

In WI there are places where Kwik Trips co-exist on the same corner, likely where a new larger store was built to supplement an smaller, older unit and the two units coexist together.

I used to work for Holiday, that is funny.  It's actually genius to get people going in both directions without making them cross the street.

[Rothman]

Got to be places where you see mattress stores near each other.

That really narrows it down. I hope you don't mean the whole United States.
In all seriousness, this constriction isn't true in my town, though a close but no cigar case exists; here is a former Sheetz's location. Assuming it is still a Sheetz (and it was prior to 2015 or so), way off into the distance you can barely see the other Sheetz. It's past an overpass and I can make out (what seems to be) a red column from the GSV.

I do mean the whole United States.  Now that I mean that, what catastrophe were you fearing?

[1995hoo]

Near my neighborhood there are two Shell stations more or less diagonally across Franconia Road from each other and you can easily see one from the other: https://goo.gl/maps/x4JBJdskn1C2 (Both are too expensive compared to the other Shell a mile to the east.)

Honorable mention: Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax has two Macy’s stores (Macyses?). You can’t see one from the other, but two of the same department store in the same mall feels like it fits the spirit of this thread.

[jeffandnicole]

I've seen this happen with gas stations as well.  Generally, the owner of the gas station has a contract with a certain name, and when that contract is up they sign with someone else, and their name goes on the building.  On occasion, just across the street or just down the road, two stations with the same name appear.  Sometimes for just a short while; other times for years.

[oscar]

Honorable mention: Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax has two Macy’s stores (Macyses?). You can’t see one from the other, but two of the same department store in the same mall feels like it fits the spirit of this thread.

My first visit in 1994, West Edmonton Mall in western Canada had duplicate department stores (such as two The Bay stores), usually at opposite ends of that giant mall, as a result of department store chain mergers where the merged company was unable to unload the excess retail space. My last visit a few years ago, the duplication was gone (as was an auto dealership showroom in the mall), now that there is strong enough demand from new retailers to soak up the excess space.

[abefroman329]

I saw two identical gas stations of the same brand on Highway 50 in Kenosha last weekend - I guess they reasoned they had enough customers traveling in both directions that the two stations wouldn't cannibalize each other.

[ET21]

Two CVS stores within a block of each other near Nagle and Higgins on Chicago's Northwest side
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9754546,-87.785002,17.8z