Yes it had a theatrical release. Looking on Wikipedia, The film earned $43,700,855 during its original theatrical run, opening at #3 during its opening weekend.
The movie Soul Food was first shown in theaters on September 26, 1997. It received many nominations for awards and even won a few. In 2000 there was a T.V. series based on the movie on Showtime.
While I have never seen this movie, I definatly remember seeing commercials for it being released in the movie theaters. It did not go directly to DVD. But if I remember correctly it should have gone direct to DVD.
