'Change alone is unchanging," the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, so it's seldom a shock when a venerable business or institution bows out. Apollo Travel Service, which has been in the same location on Main Street for 39 years, isn't closing, but the company's decision to become an office-less enterprise will alter the downtown landscape. The travel service's agents will, like more and more workers these days, telecommute and work from home or wherever there's internet service, to help their clients.

There are advantages to using a travel agent instead of booking flights and making reservations online. For one, it makes unpleasant surprises less likely. But the reality is that most people make simple travel arrangements on their own. The frenetic pace of life and longer work hours leave less time to visit a storefront office, and that makes having one less necessary.

The same thing is happening in a host of areas. Computer programmers, web designers, editors, teachers, human resources workers and people in sales often work from home at least part of the time. That development is having a growing effect on the need to have a brick-and-mortar place of business.

Right down the street from Apollo Travel, at least for now, the storefront that was home to Foodee's Pizza for 20 years is empty. Business, during what most people would call a recession, declined to the point where it no longer made sense to stay open, the owner of the franchise said. The restaurant will be missed.

There are other gaps on Main Street, as there are every time the economy takes a downturn. But don't despair. Though the main streets of many cities became dismal places, Concord preserved its historic downtown so well that it's become a regional mecca for shoppers.

The gaps left by Foodee's and Apollo Travel will be filled. The changes that occur will either be good ones or the downtown landscape will change yet again.