How does Layer 2 blockchain work?

Imagine you have a busy restaurant where customers place their orders at the counter, and the kitchen prepares the food. However, sometimes the kitchen gets overwhelmed and the food takes a long time to be ready. To solve this problem, the restaurant decides to implement a "kitchen assistant" (Layer 2 solution).
Here's how it works:
Customers place their orders at the counter as usual (Layer 1). Instead of directly going to the main kitchen, their orders are now sent to the kitchen assistant.
The kitchen assistant takes on some of the work by preparing a portion of the orders. It has its own space and resources to handle these orders separately from the main kitchen.
The main kitchen continues to prepare the rest of the orders at its own pace (Layer 1). It doesn't have to worry about being overwhelmed anymore because some orders are being handled by the kitchen assistant.
Once the orders are ready, the kitchen assistant informs the main kitchen and the food is served to the customers. This process ensures that all orders are still fulfilled correctly and efficiently.
If customers want to pay or make any changes to their orders, they do so at the counter (Layer 1) as usual. The restaurant keeps track of everything happening in both the main kitchen and the kitchen assistant.
If there are any issues or disputes, the restaurant has a system in place to resolve them and ensure everything is fair and accurate.
So, in this analogy, the main kitchen represents the Layer 1 blockchain (like Ethereum), and the kitchen assistant represents the Layer 2 solution. The kitchen assistant helps with faster food preparation, reducing wait times and congestion.
Similarly, Layer 2 solutions aim to speed up transactions, reduce fees, and make the blockchain more scalable. They do this by processing some transactions off the main blockchain, while still ensuring security and correctness by periodically connecting and settling with the main blockchain.
Overall, Layer 2 solutions act like an assistant kitchen, offloading some work from the main kitchen to provide a smoother and more efficient experience for customers (users) of the blockchain.